


The Defense Destroyers

by AwesomeTrinket



Category: Summoners War (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 16:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16329695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwesomeTrinket/pseuds/AwesomeTrinket
Summary: Olivia was a cannibal against her will. Bulldozer was an experiment gone wrong. Randy and Copper were bounty hunters. Four unlikely friendships were made among them, for they all shared one thing in common - they were the "different" ones in society. The ones no one wanted. They would gladly stick up for each other, even if the ghost of a fallen Summoner named Pandora wished to rid the world of The Consumer, Olivia.





	1. Prologue - Olivia

**Author's Note:**

> Yup. I'm doing that thing where I start a million fanfictions and finish none of them all over again. Sorry.
> 
> This one's actually a fanfiction that I've been working on for a little while now; I've been sort of plotting out the characters and stuff, but it's nothing fancy. Reason why I haven't been making any fanfiction as of late is because I'm actually working on Draft 3 of my novel! It's going really good nowadays.
> 
> Anyway, I'll stop author's-note-ing and just get on with it.

**Prologue**

**Olivia**

_...must...consume..._

The hunger struck Olivia again in powerful waves. It was so painful she nearly fell over as her stomach growled. Her breathing became sharp and hushed; each breath so difficult. She needed to eat. She  _had_  to eat. She thought she would die from this painful hunger if she didn't.

With great effort, Olivia finally stood up; the hand that did not hold her katana was pressed up against the soft flesh of her lower abdomen. The rumbling in her stomach did not fade, instead growing worse with each passing second. Oh, why did she have to have this insatiable craving...? Life would be so much easier if she were normal, like all the other monsters on her island.

_...hun...gry..._

Without a word she advanced forward in the island, looking around. Ah, there was Megan. She was asleep, leaning against a tree. Olivia didn't want to feed this wicked part of her, but she had to. She couldn't starve it out; doing so would meant that her fragile body would starve too, and she would keel over and close her eyes for the final time, never to be seen again.

For as long as she could remember, Olivia had always been like this. She knew that it was a horrible thing to do, but she had to. Her body needed it; otherwise she wouldn't have been here for this long. She tried to lay low about her problems, only feed into it when necessary...but it was the "when necessary" part that terrified her about herself.

It had been a month, maybe two, since she had last satisfied this urge inside of her. A Neostone Agent is meant to be graceful, but show no mercy. Olivia did not show mercy to herself; she would starve herself of the meat she so desperately needed until the very last second, and when she felt as if she were about to faint was when she gorged herself. No matter how much of regular monster food she ate, it wasn't nearly enough.

She had to do this.

_...need...flesh..._

Megan woke up with a gurgling scream. Olivia pushed her free hand onto Megan's mouth, both silencing her screams and tilting her head up to expose her neck some more. Olivia sank her teeth into the warm flesh again, tearing out a good sized chunk. Blood splattered all over her clothes, but she couldn't seem to care at the moment. To Olivia, Megan's blood and flesh was a mix of delightfully sweet and sour at the same time.

Megan tried to scream in pain again, but the combination of her fatal wounds and Olivia keeping her quiet made her cries for help futile. Olivia ripped another succulent piece of flesh out, this time from Megan's arm. The flavor of her blood rolled around on Olivia's tongue as she swallowed the liquid and her meat, intending to take as much off of Megan's bones as she could.

A shrill scream, however, snapped Olivia out of her feeding. The blonde woman looked up, to see the Summoner rapidly backing away from her and the corpse of Megan. His eyes were wide, and the look in them showed primal fear. Fear for his life, because of Olivia. Instead of shame, which would be what you would expect from her, Olivia just felt...indifference. This was far too normal to her,, all because of her disgusting requirement for the flesh of monsters.

"Get away from me, you freak!" He yelped. Olivia had grown used to the torment and the fear, but it still stung to hear the human who once trusted her now calling her a freak. She deserved it, though. She  _was_  a freak.

 _This is why you have no friends, Olivia._  She internally sighed to herself. Olivia usually ate all her friends or drove them away. She expected nothing less.

The process took less than an hour. By the end of an hour, Olivia no longer belonged to her Summoner, nothing more than a nomad now. Two of his monsters, Veromos and Mo Long, escorted her off the island - that is to say, they both grabbed her by the arms and pulled her towards the Energy Gateway. Olivia didn't try to struggle, staying perfectly still. By now she knew better than to make a fuss. It would just be a futile attempt to delay the inevitable.

They punched some random coordinates into the Gateway. The blue light filling the circle up began to glow brighter, indicating it was ready for use, and Olivia was thrown in. They didn't care where she ended up; just as long as she was gone from the Summoner's island. Olivia closed her eyes and braced herself for anything. If she were really unlucky she'd end up in Faimon Volcano.

She flew out of the portal, where she skidded on the ground, colliding with the hot sand of the deserts. Olivia knew from instincts that this was Tamor Desert. Surprisingly, she was relieved to be in Tamor Desert. She knew that there were towns scattered across the area. There she could temporarily find sanctuary and perhaps an extra meal or two to curb her hunger for at least a little while. She stood up, brushing the sand off of her clothes, and started walking; katana in hand. This was going to be...interesting, to say the least.

* * *

The Consumer was fairly well known now - perhaps to the point of even becoming a terrifying legend. For two years now, monsters in various towns all over Mystica were found, torn to pieces; obviously by one of the more human monsters. The places where the chunks of flesh were taken were obviously done by human teeth. There was no chance of a Werewolf or Vampire being The Consumer.

Olivia felt flattered the world was making an urban legend about her.

Much to Olivia's surprise, she had yet to be summoned after her latest incident. Olivia briefly wondered if she had been eternally marked as a monster whom no one wanted. Some monsters were like that; they were so useless or horrible in the eyes of the gods, the Summoners, that no one wanted them. Monsters like Vanessa were one of those kinds. Poor Vanessa tried her best to be loved by someone,  _anyone_ , but in the end she lived as a hotel keeper in some town in Garen Forest.

Nowadays Olivia just traveled around Mystica, going from place to place and living in peace for about two months, maybe three if she could starve herself for long enough. Once again, she only ate the sweet, yet bitter flesh of the monsters when she absolutely had to. While the small town nearby the Cairos Dungeon screamed and gaped at the crack of dawn over the decaying, week-old body of a Veromos who had been eaten by The Consumer, Olivia stalked away without a sound.

Two years. Two years without a Summoner. Olivia felt painfully lonely. She'd like to have a friend, one to travel with her and wouldn't judge her...one who maybe, just maybe, would be exempt from her urge to devour all life. That would be nice. Olivia looked up at the stars without faltering her pace; the tiny pinpricks slowly fading away at the sun arose as it always did in its endless cycle. Tears pricked at her eyes, and under her breath, she wished that she wouldn't be so alone.

_..._

_...The Consumer has gone on for far too long. They must fall as I did._

Pandora hated The Consumer. She didn't even know his or her identity. Pandora didn't even know if The Consumer was even a monster. She hated them. She knew very well of their existence, though. Pandora had seen one of the corpses, long ago. This one had been eaten straight to the bone, and even then the bones of poor Maruna's arms had been snapped open to suck the marrow out of them.

She had tried to tell someone about her discovery, but no one knew she was there; she felt like nothing but a soft breeze as she screamed endlessly about The Consumer striking again. The monsters in the town found out soon enough, anyway, but they could have found the girl sooner and given her a proper burial, instead of the shallow grave The Consumer had dug for the young woman.

Pandora mused to herself that ever since she became a spirit she had become a lot more hateful. She didn't seem to care, though. She had someone to target her anger out; someone who deserved the anger and the hatred. For the first time in a decade, Pandora felt almost corporeal.

She looked at herself in the shimmering lake water in Aiden Forest. Even in the pale moonlight, she could see herself; just barely. It was better than what she had been before. She wasn't able to see her reflection before. Pandora wondered why her hatred grounded her in reality. Her hair fell in white, soft waves; covered mostly by a black hat. Pandora's face was young, twisted with hatred.

Her tattered navy blue robes flicked in the wind as she turned away and began to drift aimlessly. It would be a bit difficult not to be noticed by The Consumer now that she just barely had an image, but it would have to do.


	2. Chapter 1 - Bulldozer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, would you look at that, AwesomeTrinket is actually writing chapters to her stories, what a shocker. Anyway, I'm starting this immediately after I finished the Prologue, so everything's still fresh in my mind as I write this!

 

**Chapter One**

**Bulldozer**

"I've learned so much about The Consumer! I have a theory they're from the Dimensional Hole..." A girl screeched to the left of Bulldozer. He closed his eyes, gripping onto the jacket slung over his shoulders, trying not to pay attention to the child. Thankfully, the red jacket covered up his arms. He didn't want monsters to see the truth of him; the "damaged goods." The girl was about thirteen or fourteen, dark hair tied into low, curly pigtails. In one hand she held a bright green balloon, the other a notebook.

The girl was talking to a woman much older than her. Long, brunette hair flowed down in waves, and a crown made out of pure gold and rubies rested on her head. Her dress was like a pool of yellow silk, conforming to the shape of her body. Bulldozer recognized this woman as a Tiana, the wind Polar Queen.

"It is horrible, is it not, Nicki?" Tiana sighed, looking down at her nimble hands. "I suppose we should just be lucky we live on an island... Who would do such a thing?"

"Why do we automatically assume The Consumer is an evil monster?" Nicki piped up all of a sudden. "Maybe they have to eat monsters to survive. Like Vampires. We don't just shame Vampires for eating monsters, why is this different?"

Bulldozer couldn't help but agree with Nicki. He didn't mean to hurt his Summoner or kill her. Did that mean he was evil, too? As Tiana spoke, he was briefly reminded of another one who was like him. That woman's name was Alicia. She was one of the newest monsters. The poor thing had no idea of what the Summoner wanted to do to everyone.

...But he'd rather not remember those days. Granted, it was already two months ago that he escaped, but it still hurt to remember. The Summoner was a twisted young mind; he would admit that she was a genius, especially for her age. But at the same time, she lacked the empathy and love that most Summoners had. Alicia's screams as the Summoner hacked off one arm, replacing it with a metallic arm she built herself still echoed in Bulldozer's head.

_"Interesting. Very interesting." Summoner's mouth curled into a smile. No one knew her name, so all the monsters simply referred to her as "Summoner"_

_Alicia screamed and wailed out as Summoner moved the saw up and down on her shoulder. She could feel her bones cracking, the blood flowing down to the ground of the Arena Defense Tower. Tears ran down Alicia's beautiful face as she pleaded for Summoner to stop; it hurt so much._

_"Shh, I know it hurts, Alicia, but it will be over soon." Even with Alicia strapped down on a chair and Summoner standing on a stepladder, she still had to get on her tiptoes to whisper into Alicia's ear. How a child who wasn't even ten could be so uncaring, Bulldozer wondered as he heard the screams. "Besides, with your new arm, your power and agility will be increased by 50%. I could learn so much from dissecting you...!"_

_With a hasty tug, Alicia's arm was ripped out, and she screamed louder. Summoner didn't even flinch as blood splattered her white lab coat, instead scribbling something down using her free hand. She smiled gently at Alicia again. "Now then, let's get that metal arm installed on you, hey?"_

He had been genuinely afraid that if he stayed she might have killed him. He wasn't too sure about her state, now that he escaped; whether she was comatose or...actually dead. The thought of being a monster who killed his Summoner sent shivers down his spine. He just remembered trying to get off the island, and Summoner caught up with him, stepping in front of the Frankenstein with a maniacal smile on her face.

"Why do you want to leave, Bulldozer?" She had cooed in her high-pitched, childish voice. "I could learn so much about Frankenstein anatomy if you stay! Aren't you grateful for your new arms, too? With them, you've never lost a Guild War!"

Summoner had advanced closer and closer to him, and he could see that in one hand she held the saw used to cut off the limbs of monsters. Out of fear, he did something that no monster should ever do. He had attacked his Summoner. Bulldozer had never meant to hurt her; but he wasn't used to his new strength thanks to the metal arms Summoner had implanted in him but a week or two before his escape. Summoner screamed, but it was sharply cut off as she fell like a ragdoll to the ground.

And then she was perfectly still.

Bulldozer was afraid he had broken something in her, or worse. The grass was becoming tainted; going from the emerald-like color it always was to dark red. He realized blood was coming out of some wound in her, and Bulldozer snapped out his shock, turning to the Energy Gateway and he started walking, passing by monsters on the island, all of whom had been modified in a way. The only one whom Bulldozer wasn't sure had been experimented with was Galleon, and even then the shining blue and metal eye-patch over his left eye made him wonder.

A tiny hand grabbed onto his jacket as he was about to leave the island. He turned to the source, and saw a little girl with white hair tied up into two pigtails. His heart dropped as he recognized it was Neal. She had one eye gouged out by Summoner and had it covered up by something similar to Galleon's eye-patch.

"Are you finally getting off the island...?" Neal whispered to him.

"Yeah. Come with me. You're too young for..." Bulldozer motioned to the island.

Neal knew what he was implicating and gave him a gentle smile. "Don't worry about me. You were the one planning your escape for months. Besides, the other monsters and I have to clean up the body."

Bulldozer felt a pang in his chest. "...You don't have to, you know."

"Nonsense. It never happened." Neal's smile widened a bit. Even with the metal eye, Bulldozer had to admit she was adorable. "Now shoo. Go before anyone finds out what happened here."

Bulldozer did as he was told, faltering to look back at him only once. Neal was waving with one hand, watching him leave. The blue portal engulfed him in light, and that was the last he had ever seen of her. He snapped out of his remembrance as a figure seemed to float towards him. The figure was female; blonde hair cut to her shoulders in soft curls.

What was strange about the figure was the glow around her and the fact she was...blurry? No, translucent was the word Bulldozer was looking for. He could see through her; he could see both her and the long waiting list of the Arena as monsters and Summoners crowded around it, trying to see who got who as an opponent. The figure stopped when she was perhaps a few inches away from Bulldozer. 

"Excuse me." She whispered. Her voice was like a breeze. That caught Bulldozer off-guard.

"What is it?" He gruffly replied, a total opposite to the figure's voice. He didn't mean to sound cold, though; that was just a force of habit.

"Do you perhaps know where I could find a Bounty Hunter?" It wasn't uncommon for monsters to have someone whom they hated with all their heart and wanted to see them dead. Bulldozer admitted that no, he didn't; sorry.

"It's okay. Thank you anyway." She turned away, starting to float to Nicki and Tiana, but stopped and turned back to Bulldozer. "I'm Pandora, by the way."

"Bulldozer."

* * *

_It hurts, it hurts, oh please God make it stop, it hurts, don't make me succumb to this repulsive urge again please please please -_

Olivia didn't realize she was hyperventilating until it was too late. She sucked in a breath, choking on a noodle. Olivia coughed violently, gulping down her bottle of water as tears blurred the steaming bowl of noodles in front of her. The need to consume flesh was growing stronger again; she had hoped desperately to eat enough regular food until the screaming in the back of her head could scream no more for the moment.

"Make it stop, please..." Olivia sobbed to no one in particular. Each bite of normal food made the burning in the back of her throat go stronger, and eventually she hauled herself to the trash can and threw up.

She couldn't do this. Just one monster. One. That's all it would take. She would even take a silver-star monster if it came down to it.

Olivia stood up, taking another drink from her bottle. She had recently traveled all the way back to Garen Forest, and was staying in one of the towns there. Ever since the dark energy caused from the hatred of Lady Arang and the group of Dark Summoners cleared up, the whole continent seemed friendlier. More towns had been set up (except near the Faimon Volcano, of course), and the towns that were already there grew more populated and better than they had been. The town she was in was one of the newer towns.

It was fairly popular; nomads like her and tourists frequently came and left the town, so there was always someone wandering around whom no one would know were gone until a month or so after she had consumed them. Olivia sighed, standing up and finishing off her water bottle, tossing the plastic into the trash can.

She glanced at the noodles, which were rapidly cooling off. Oh well. She would finish them later, after she got the meal she had  _really_  been craving. She headed out of her hotel room silently, giving a brief wave to the hotelkeeper, Katarina. The Valkyrie made some remark about another day, another adventure, but Olivia didn't care. She needed to eat.

The sound of monsters in the town filled Olivia's ears. She couldn't pick one of the residents to eat; that would draw too much suspicion. The dying light of the sunset meant that Olivia could eat someone and bury them and everyone would be none the wiser until the corpse began to rot. Olivia picked someone at random, her eyes resting on a red and yellow Frankenstein.

_Hm. His flesh would be tough, but it is still flesh nevertheless._

_Consume him._

_Consume._

"Forgive me." Olivia sobbed as she waited for the Frankenstein to pass by her. The streets were empty now, and it was night. She dashed forward, pulling him into the darkness with her. Tears ran down her face as she sank her teeth down into his arm, tearing out a piece of his jacket as she did so. Bulldozer was frozen in shock; everything feeling like it was happening in an instant.

...

...Olivia screamed in pain as her teeth collided with something metal. Now it was Olivia's turn to freeze up for a mere second, and then instincts took over for Bulldozer. He threw her off of him, slamming her against the wall and using one hand to pin her there. His other arm reeled back, as if to punch her, but Olivia didn't struggle, her head instead swimming. Black dots filled her vision; energy going out as she had used her last burst to try and consume Bulldozer.

Olivia felt like she was underwater, floating aimlessly in muffled waters. She realized she was going to black out at the worst possible time, but she didn't seem to care soon after, as there was darkness, and then there was no more sound.


	3. Chapter 2 - Randy and Copper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Olivia's need to consume flesh was based off of the ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul. I really love Tokyo Ghoul and I'm kinda pissed that I have to wait until October for an official box set of the 14-volume manga to be released. But for now, I'm just gonna sit here, cuddle with my L and Ryuk plushies and read my Death Note manga.
> 
> ...Yeah, I think I know where I got the inspiration for Randy from.
> 
> Anyway, who's your favorite character of the four Defense Destroyers and if your answer isn't Copper the great Australian hotshot boi your answer is wrong. (i'm just kidding, i love my copper boi)

 

**Chapter 2**

**Randy and Copper**

_This place is as disgusting as I thought._

Pandora floated through the wall of the "mattress store." In her search for a Bounty Hunter, she had silently followed Bulldozer. She had seen quite a few teams consisting of a Bulldozer and some other defense-based monster, and she had a hunch that The Consumer was one of those monsters.

That suspicion was confirmed as she watched Bulldozer enter that town in Garen Forest...Was it Kuhran or Guinying? God, Pandora could never remember the names of those hundreds of thousands of towns for monsters roaming around the continent of Mystica. Whatever; the name of the town didn't matter. What did matter was what she saw.

"Forgive me." The Consumer pleaded desperately as they stalked Bulldozer down. Ah, so Bulldozer wasn't an accomplice, Pandora realized. No, he was about to become the next meal. The voice was female. That eliminated quite a few monsters who were possibly The Consumer.

Nimble arms pulled the yellow and red Frankenstein away from sight, into the shadows. The sun was setting, turning the sky a sickening shade of pink and gold. Pandora hated it. She hated it so much. A part of her wished she weren't so hateful; she had been a regular Summoner before the accident happened. Pandora hated that part of her that whispered in the back of her head.

At least the benefit of being a hateful spirit was that she fed off of the fear and hatred of others. Was that why Pandora was able to stay in reality nowadays? She wasn't too sure, but she would find out later. After all, The Consumer wasn't the only urban legend floating around Mystica. Stories of a fallen Summoner who hated the world and drove entire islands to tear each other apart in their hatred circulated through the minds of gossiping monsters as well.

Pandora hated how people would corrupt and distort the truth of a story until a man who fought off a burglar even though the man had a sprained wrist would become the story of a young boy that fought off six gang members even after being shot in the chest thrice. In Pandora's defense, she had only caused the death of one girl and the destruction of one town.  _One_  girl.  _One_  town.

Pandora was addicted to the taste of a monster's fear just moments before they die. Not only that, it made her feel  _powerful_. Like she could do anything if she just had one more gulp of that sweet, sweet fear. In a haze, she wondered if this desire to feed on hatred made her like The Consumer; the one she hated more than Pandora hated herself. But that did not matter.

What did matter was that she knew who was behind the name given to them, "The Consumer." Pandora expected some big brute beast. A Chimera, but more...human. Hell, even a Panda Warrior. Never in a million years did Pandora expect a young Neostone Agent, barely older than 21, sobbing as she attempted to clamp her teeth down Bulldozer's tough flesh.

_An Olivia, hm?_

Neostone Agents were common around Garen Forest; especially the water and wind ones. No wonder Olivia chose to stick around Garen Forest this time. Perhaps in her twisted mind she thought that if the identity of The Consumer was found, the world would blame it on another traveling Olivia. But alas, now that Pandora knew the truth of The Consumer, that would not happen.

Pandora found herself...smiling. She smiled at Olivia's pain as she shrieked in pain; her cries of anguish enough to curdle one's blood. It was fear that Olivia felt, for she had found someone she could not consume. Bulldozer threw her against the wall, her bones slamming against the cold maroon bricks. Olivia blacked out from fatigue. Pandora's smile turned into a sneer as Bulldozer spared her life.

_Pathetic._

Well, there went her hopes of Bulldozer killing her himself. She'd just have to find a way to kill Olivia. Pandora realized that trying to kill with her own hands was difficult, considering that though she was solid enough to hold Mana Crystals and swords, she wasn't that skilled in fighting. Pandora decided to leave fighting by herself as a last-case scenario, instead going for her first method of murder: a Bounty Hunter.

There were two kinds of monsters whom anyone could trust to paint a target on someone's back and eliminate them. Those monster kinds were Bounty Hunters and Assassins. Assassins were young women, some as young as thirteen, who have practically been trained since birth on the most efficient way to kill; so they were more reliable. On the other hand, their services didn't come cheap; Pandora could feel herself cringing as she imagined the prices that an Assassin might ask for to kill such a legend.

Bounty Hunters were usually novices to the whole "assassination" thing. They also weren't all women; some were men, too. There were a few skilled Bounty Hunters who were cheaper than Assassins. That was someone that Pandora was looking for now. The price probably wouldn't be a problem. Pandora wasn't exactly a rich Summoner, but at least she had enough to cover the cost of a Bounty Hunter. Pandora was surprised she could even still hold her Crystals.

* * *

It's a miracle why mattress stores haven't gone out of business, isn't it? Pandora wondered why. For years on end, they permanently have a flashy, multicolored "GRAND OPENING SALE" or "EVERYTHING MUST GO" sign plastered haphazardly on the building walls. The insides were no better, either. Sleazy salesmen corner everyone who tries to step foot in the mattress store, not to mention the mattresses themselves were filthy – why  _wouldn't_  you think the same way Pandora does?

As it turned out, sometimes the stores weren't all that they seemed up front. Pandora knew a place or two like that. They were places where they presented an innocent front; just your average Mom and Pop Pizza Place, no big deal. However, you had to have the inside knowledge needed to get to the  _real_  place. This place was exactly one of those.

A man with white hair and a dark hat looked up at Pandora, jumping back a little. Of course, he was surprised by her appearance. It wasn't everyday a ghost just appeared out of nowhere; staring into his soul with cold, red eyes. After taking a second to steady his racing heart, he cleared his throat and spoke up at the girl. Pandora realized he was French.

"Ah, 'allo 'allo, mon prettay ghost lady. Wélcome to ur mattrez staire. Mon name's Guillaume, 'ow mai ai 'elp you?"

Pandora spoke clearly and firmly. "Everyone blames the stars for the errors humans create."

Guillaume nodded once. "Ah, zo you are un of those customairs. Right zis wai, mon love."

He led her to a door labeled "Employees Only" Upon pushing it open, the two of them walked (rather, Guillaume walked and Pandora floated) down what felt like an endless staircase. The sounds of music so loud it vibrated through the very walls of the building and people screaming and shouting echoed in Pandora's ears. Finally, they reached the end of the stairs. The noises were so loud that Pandora briefly wondered how no one from the "mattress store" heard it.

Guillaume pushed the door open silently for Pandora. Instantly, everything became ten times louder. The hot stench of marijuana and body odor hit Pandora's ghostly pale face like a wave. A nagging urge in the back of her mind told her "this isn't worth it, Pandora, get out and find someplace else" She did not listen to it, instead advancing on into the poorly lit room.

Some sort of rap music was being played on the overhead speakers. Drunken monsters were dancing to it; sliding and tumbling about. Everyone cheered as Carrack busted a nearly-impossible move. The drunken Pirate Captain laughed maniacally as he tried to take another swig of whatever he was drinking; he missed and spilled it down his red half-open jacket and his six-pack abs. Xiao Lin and Lupinus swooned.

Pandora hated Carrack. She floated through the crowd, intentionally bumping someone so that they knocked Carrack onto the ground. She glanced back to see who she got. Lovely, it was a Chimera; the fire one, Rakan. The beast roared and flapped his wings to stabilize himself. Carrack wasn't as lucky, though, and tumbled straight to the hardwood floor, spilling the rest of his drink on himself.

"'Ey!" He barked. "Watch where ya goin', ya furry brute!"

Rakan turned back to him, growling something along the lines of "Is that a threat?" Pandora closed her eyes and took a deep breath, absorbing the animosity that was growing at a rapid pace in both Carrack and Rakan. Without warning a fight broke out, and after lingering for a few seconds to take some more of their sweet, sweet hatred, Pandora returned back to her original quest of finding a Bounty Hunter.

It seemed strange, going to a rave to find a Bounty Hunter. But Pandora knew that parties like these brought out the scum of the world's scum. Gang members. Drug dealers. Hit-men. You name it. It was only sooner or later that Pandora would get a recommendation from someone that knew where to find a Bounty Hunter.

The first group she came across was no good. The group screeched and drew back when they saw who she was. One of the monsters yelled at the leader, a Woosa, what the hell he put in those sugar cubes. Pandora sighed heavily as she realized they thought she was a hallucination. Obviously they were on drugs – perhaps mushrooms or LSD; acid, as they called it nowadays.

The next group consisted of a handsome-looking man with dark hair, hidden by a bright red hood, and armor of a similar color. A few girls surrounded him, and a young man sat on his lap; he looked like the man, except he was blonde and his armor was the color of sunshine. Pandora realized they were Archangels; the red one the fire Archangel Velajuel and the yellow one the wind, Eladriel.

"Excuse me," Pandora whispered, her voice barely audible over the music and laughter, "I'd hate to interrupt, but do you know where I could find a Bounty Hunter anywhere?"

"Oh, of course, pet." Velajuel purred. "If you go over to the other side of the room, you'll find two boys; a Bounty Hunter and a Living Armor. Best I know. Surprisingly cheap, too. Now then, is that all, or do you want to join in on the fun?"

Pandora couldn't hide the nauseated look that swept over her face. "I'd rather not."

Before any of the group could respond, she turned and started floating in the direction Velajuel had pointed her. Before long, she was touching the other wall, and began looking for two people who were the monster classes Velajuel said they were. Pandora heard one of the two hunters before she saw him.

"You wanna bloody go, ya bogan ratbag?! You wanna bloody biffo?!"

" _Brig_  it on, Copper!" A drunken Liebli chuckled.

_Jesus Christ, another fight?_

Copper returned to where he had been sitting just a few minutes before Liebli instigated a fight. The dark Joker laid on the ground, purple hair sticking up in strands. It had been rather amusing to watch Liebli go down with one hit, but whom she was most interested in was Copper. He was clad in green and yellow armor, and held a massive hammer that occasionally created a spark or two as he harnessed the power of the wind.

As usual, Pandora couldn't see his face, due to being in a suit of armor, but unlike other Living Armors she'd seen before he wasn't just the upper half of the armor and floated from place to place; he actually had the lower half – the legs. Pandora wondered if Copper wasn't a Living Armor at all, rather a man in a suit of armor and pretended he was "normal," that he was like all the others.

But that doesn't matter.

Pandora took a seat on the opposite side of the table Copper was on so that she faced him. A boy had his feet propped up on the table, and was reading something; she realized the book was backwards, the right cover the front, the left the back. On the right the words "Tokyo Ghoul" were written on, along with some strange symbols Pandora couldn't read; it was either kanji or katakana. The cover was a picture of a dark-haired, red-eyed boy whose face was twisted with disgust, and in the background a girl with rose hair had empty-looking eyes.

"I heard you two were Bounty Hunters...one of you really a Hunter." Pandora's gaze fell on the boy again; his face was buried in the book and was covered by a huge, red hat that Pandora would almost call a sombrero. There was a black jacket slung around his shoulders, and his boots were golden.

"If you don't mind, you're interrupting my reading." The Bounty Hunter mumbled.

Copper elbowed him in the ribs. "Randy! That's no way to treat a customer, mate! She's the first we've had all arvo!" His voice was heavily tainted with an Australian accent.

"That doesn't change the fact she's still interrupting. You deal with her." Randy waved him off with his free hand.

Copper sighed heavily, before turning to Pandora. The tone in his voice made Pandora think he was smiling. "G'day! Don't mind him; he's just a bit of a dag is all! Name's Copper, this is my cobber Randy. Were we recommendations or something?"

"Yeah. Told you were the best hunters in this room. There's someone I need eliminated as soon as possible. Of course, I will compensate you for your time." Pandora forced a smile on her face.

"First of all, who are we hunting down this time?" Copper didn't seem fazed at all that she was a ghost.

"The Consumer." Pandora's words shocked both of them enough that even Randy took his face out of his backwards book. She saw he had yellow irises.

"Crikey! What the hell?! Are ya bloody drongo?! You can rack off if you're serious!" Copper threw his hands into the air.

"We're gonna get ourselves killed if we go after them!" Randy hissed. "Do you seriously expect us to try and hunt down an urban legend about a monster who  _eats monster flesh?!_  We don't even know if they're even real –"

"I assure you," Pandora cut off Randy's rant, "she exists, and I know who she is."

This seems to quiet the two down for the moment, so Pandora spoke up again. "Her name's Olivia. As you might guess, she's a wind Neostone Agent. Last seen trying to eat a Bulldozer. She couldn't, though, and blacked out. She's not as invulnerable as you seem to think she is."

"...We better get heaps of Crystals if we take on her job." Copper muttered to Randy.

"I don't want to go after her, anyway. So what if she's a Neostone Agent? She still eats monsters like us." Randy snapped back.

The two argued amongst themselves for a bit, before turning back to Olivia. Copper spoke up first. "We'll do it, but it'll be hard yakka and we expect a good compensation for it."

"700 Crystals up-front. A thousand extra for each of you when you kill her. That's two thousand total." Pandora coolly replied, tracing spirals on the table with her finger. Randy's eyes widened.

"For real?!"

"Fair dinkum?!"

"Yes, for real." Pandora pulled a tiny pouch out of her robes, tossing it at the two. Copper caught it, peeking inside.

"Bloody 'ell, she wasn't kidding! You little ripper! That settles it, we're going after The Consumer!"

Randy sighed, closing his book. "Alright, then. We'll start searching in the morning, miss...what's your name?"

Pandora's smile widened, and for once, she felt giddy. "Call me Pandora."


	4. Chapter 3 - Strangers, Yet Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is up and running! It's around this point you're gonna get some poetic chapter names, instead of just the names of our four main characters! I already have the story outlined so I have the chapter names for them all!
> 
> ...I also had the realization that the Defense Destroyers are a lot like the Fantastic Four. Think about it: Four friends (three male, one female), all of whom different in some way, and their team name starts with the same letter. Their personalities even match up! Gentle giant (Bulldozer/The Thing), smart nerdy boi (Mr. Fantastic/Randy), graceful woman (Invisible Woman/Olivia) and hotshot (Copper/Human Torch).
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and if you like the story, why not do me a favor and vote + comment on it? I would REALLY appreciate it if you did! Thank you ahead of time!

 

**Chapter 3**

**Strangers, Yet Friends**

_"Sister Olivia, please, stop!"_

_"It hurts - it hurts so much -"_

_Screaming. Pain. Blood. Organs. Oh, so delicious. Without faltering, Olivia woke up to see the gore she had caused. It was all her fault. She picked up the katana her sister Sylvia used, the blood on her face and her tears dripping onto the blade._

_"...I'm sorry, my sisters."_

And then Olivia was awake, gasping and coughing. From the way she spluttered and struggled to get up, one would think that she had been saved from drowning had she not been bone dry. Bulldozer glanced over at her, mildly relieved that she was awake. He didn't want to be the cause of a death - worst case scenario; she would've been the second death because of him.

"Good, you're up." He mumbled. Bulldozer soon returned his gaze to out the window; paranoid that someone would figure out that he was the one who hurt a Summoner and come after him.

Olivia slowly turned to him, before she remembered what she had tried to do to him. "...Why didn't you...?"

"Kill ya?" Bulldozer finished her sentence for her. "Wouldn't've been right. Already might've caused someone to die, don't want someone else's blood on my hands."

Olivia was curious, but didn't push the issue about Bulldozer's potential murder.

"Ya don't have to lie to me, either. I know you're The Consumer."

Olivia's eyes widened a fraction. "H-how did you -"

"You're a monster that tried to eat my flesh. How could ya not figure it out?"

Olivia fell silent at this. She...couldn't argue with Bulldozer's logic. After a minute or two, Bulldozer began to speak again, trying to fill the now awkward silence between the two. Olivia briefly noted that she was lying on her bed in the hotel room she had rented out. How Bulldozer figured out where she was staying, she would have to ask later. Olivia's body practically screamed for flesh, which made it difficult to concentrate.

"I just wanna know: why?"

"Because I need it." Olivia knew exactly what Bulldozer was talking about. She sat up on the bed. Her yellow and white uniform was wrinkled, but that's what to expect after passing out with someone at your throat - quite literally. Olivia shook her head a tad.

"...For as long as I could remember, I've needed the flesh and blood of monsters. When it first started, a drop of blood was all that needed to calm a strange feeling in my body." Olivia started. "One drop became two, two became four, four ten, and before I was five I was purposely creating cuts and gashes on my friends to suck out some of their blood."

"I thought I was a Neostone Agent and Vampire hybrid at first." She realized she couldn't stop talking even if she tried, so Olivia just went with it. She chuckled a bit, but there was no humor behind her laughter. "It honestly would've been easier to deal with had I been one. I'd be able to drink a silver-star monster's blood and be done with it. I had my first taste of flesh, and from there, it was like I was an addict. I tried to ignore the urge to consume, but it turned out to be a close encounter with death and passed out."

"The resident healer on my island at the time, Chloe, told me that had I been found a minute later, I would have died." Olivia shook her head, concluding her ramble. "...I'm sorry for talking so much."

"Eh, it's alright."

"...Are you going to turn me in or something, now that you know what I really am?" Olivia's stomach quivered as she waited for Bulldozer's response.

The silence from him felt like an eternity, but at last the Frankenstein spoke up. "I ain't gonna, don't worry."

"Oh, thank Artamiel..." Olivia exhaled the breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. "...But why do you spare me?"

"In a way, you're a bit like me." Bulldozer shrugged. "Different, I mean. People consider you something terrifying, yeah?"

"You have no idea." Another clipped laugh came from Olivia's throat.

"Well, ya ain't the only one who's different around here." Bulldozer raised up one sleeve of his red jacket to reveal a metal arm; glinting in the moonlight. Not once did he turn away from the window. Olivia stared in awe, not just because of Bulldozer's oddity - but because, even though he had seen her darkest side, he was still willing to give her a chance.

Olivia tried to stand up, to go to Bulldozer's side, but fell back down onto the soft sheets, whining as another wave of agonizing hunger struck her. Bulldozer finally turned to look at her, wincing as she fell back, clutching her stomach. It hurt so much. Before long, Bulldozer remembered what Olivia said about the first time she tried to starve it out.

"...Ya need flesh, don't ya?"

Olivia weakly nodded. "...I must consume..."

"You've never been savvy with the black market, I see." Bulldozer held out his hand to help Olivia up. "My Summoner used to buy monster organs from there every now and then. Her experiments were...strange."

Olivia gladly took his hand. It was chilly, but not lifelessly cold. It felt quite nice. "You're right; I've never taken an interest in the black market, but..." Here she paused to fend off the urge to try and consume Bulldozer's flesh, "...what I do know is that even the weakest of organs would be expensive."

_Take some of his flesh while you still can._

_Don't go for his arms. His neck is regular._

_No._

_I will not consume him._

"Yeah. Don't have many Mana Crystals on me. What about you?"

"I only have enough for the hotel fee..." Olivia hung her head, studying Bulldozer's arms. It was clear that they were handmade, made from the finest metal that Olivia had seen. Thousands of gears, joints and wires were inside the metal shells, all working together to create a beautiful piece of work.

"...How long do ya think ya can stay up like this?" Bulldozer asked.

"...Not long. Perhaps five minutes...why do you ask?"

"Fastest way to get Crystals is the Arena. Was kinda hoping, ya know, we could earn 'em somehow."

Olivia's eyes widened. "You would really do that for me...?"

"Yeah. Besides, not like I got anywhere else to go." He shrugged.

"I understand." She nodded. "...Well, I believe it would be best if we got started as soon as possible. I'll try my best not to pass out, I promise..."

"Yeah, that'd probably be best. Heads up!"

As Bulldozer turned to the door, he chucked an Angelmon behind his back. Olivia yelped and held her arms out, fumbling about as she managed to catch it. Two tiny black eyes peered up at her from the Angelmon; its yellow body jiggled like it was caught in a breeze, tiny wings flapping. On its head was a golden halo. A Gold Angelmon, whom Bulldozer had gotten just for Olivia. She suddenly appreciated him a lot more than she had just seconds ago.

Deep down, the elegant yet starving Neostone Agent knew that it would give her the energy to go for maybe a day, but that didn't matter. She was touched by Bulldozer's small gift, and she chomped down on the Angelmon, taking in the halo whole as her teeth cut into part of the Angelmon. It squeaked in pain as Olivia ripped the fluffy mass away, letting the taste dissolve on her tongue.

Light and airy, like a marshmallow. But the taste was so pure and sweet. To Olivia, it was like heaven. The Angelmon was gone before she knew it, and its effects were almost instant. Already, Olivia felt more alert. The painful hunger was gone, but it was only temporary. She knew that in 24 hours, the bloodlust and the need to consume would return.

To Olivia, she and Bulldozer were friends now.

* * *

Olivia would've thought that she would be terrified during her first few times in the Sky Arena after getting kicked off her island. After all, in her paranoia, there could be someone that figured out she was the Consumer, and all it would take was one well-timed arrow through her neck. But to her surprise, she was completely calm. Bulldozer looked uneasy, though; pacing back and forth silently while gripping onto his jacket as he tried to hide his metal arms.

"Scared?" Olivia asked, though not in a teasing tone.

"Nervous." Bulldozer replied, never once faltering. "First time in the Arena. The Summoner only brought me to Guild Wars."

"I know that feeling..." Olivia sighed. While she wasn't as inexperienced in the Sky Arena as Bulldozer seemingly was, Olivia wasn't as good as other monsters on her previous islands were - before Olivia had eaten her, Megan was one of those monsters. A team of Frigate, Megan, and the Lushen brothers had been a favorite for her last Summoner. Her hazel eyes scanned over the list of people waiting for a challenge in the Arena.

"I believe we should start with one- or two-monster defenses." Olivia hummed. "What do you think?"

"You're the natural-born leader, not me."

Olivia smiled softly. It was true; Neostone Agents always made good leaders, not to toot her own horn though. She went back to looking at the arena waiting list, blonde hair tied up into a neat little bun. Bulldozer, though his nervousness, was thinking. As the two left the town and started for the Sky Arena, he had looked behind him at Olivia.

Things felt off about Olivia. He doubted she would try and eat him again, though; she had all the chances in the world earlier and she didn't take one of them. Instead he saw her push a small handful of crystals to Katarina. She whispered something, but he couldn't make out what. Bulldozer realized that she was going to disappear afterwards.

"Hm, perhaps we should try the Veromos and Belladeon defense -" Olivia started, but was quickly cut off.

"You're gonna leave after this, aren't you?" Bulldozer stopped pacing for a moment to look up at her.

 _Well, that was certainly unexpected._  The sounds of the Sky Arena seemed to be muted around the two of them. Olivia kept her back to him; not to be rude, though, but because she didn't want him to see the look of sorrow on her face. Olivia sighed tenderly, knowing he saw.

"...Yes." Olivia muttered; barely a whisper. "I always have to run. Every two or so months. This way it would be harder for someone to track me down if they found out."

Bulldozer came up to her side, and they stood together in silence. "...Where ya gonna go after this?"

"I don't know..." She shrugged. "Perhaps to Vrofagus Remains? I tend not to think about my destination too much beforehand; I just get up and go. Why do you ask?"

"Was thinking maybe we could travel together or somethin'. I mean, you seem nice and all, and I don't have anywhere else."

Olivia smiled wide; remembering the wish she had made so long ago. "...I'd love to. But for now, let us try our luck against Veromos and Belladeon."

"Sounds good to me." He grinned a bit at her, and together the two accepted the challenge.

For the first time since Olivia's permanent status of becoming a nomad, the travels didn't seem so lonely anymore.


	5. Chapter 4 - Butterfly Wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just take a moment to appreciate the gift to the world that is Copper? I seriously love this guy, no joke. Anyway, we're back at it again with another chapter of The Defense Destroyers!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, because it took me a while to write! If you're enjoying the series so far, why not vote and comment on the chapters you like? It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you ahead of time!

 

**Chapter 4  
Butterfly Wings**

"Copper, hush." Randy sighed under his breath. "You're making this difficult for me."

"Lighten up, Randy!" Copper chuckled. "You know ya love my wit!"

Randy rolled his eyes. That was  _so_ like Copper, he mused; Copper hadn't changed a bit. The Living Armor in question was talking and laughing with Pandora; the strange ghost whom had followed them to make sure the job got done. It was a little bizarre, having a supposedly resentful ghost following the two, but after a while Copper seemed to warm up to her. If she were a little more expressive, Randy would say that Pandora had done the same. But he wasn't sure; he would consider himself good at reading people and he hadn't been able to figure anything out about her.

"This is the place you said you saw Her?" Randy turned to the pale, floating apparition. The three of them had agreed to never use Olivia's name in public, lest  _she_ overheard and escaped... or fought back. Either of the two choices made Randy's job difficult.

"Yes. I believe that She stayed in that inn over there." Pandora motioned towards the building. Her white hair fell in soft curls around her face once again.

Randy nodded, before he found himself sighing again for the second time that minute. "Copper, please stop flirting with the ghost."

"Oh, shut ya gob, I ain't flirting!" Copper teased. Behind his helmet was a grin on his face. "It's just my natural charisma!"

"...Is he always like this?" Pandora resisted the urge to sneer.

"Ever since I met him," was Randy's reply.

"...I pity you." Pandora shook her head.

Randy pushed open the door to the inn, Copper and Pandora soon joining him. As the door shut behind them, Katarina jolted awake from her daydream, her wings flapping open. The Valkyrie screeched a bit, tumbling backwards in her seat before righting herself, readjusting the golden crown on her blonde hair.

"- Uh!" Katarina shouted, regaining her composure. "Oh, hello! Haven't seen your faces around! Welcome to Guinying's Bed and Breakfast! My name's Katarina!"

"Randy." The Bounty Hunter briefly introduced himself. "That's Copper. That's Pandora."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you three! Do you already have a reservation?" Katarina crowed.

"No; we're looking for this woman. Her name's Olivia. Wind Neostone Agent. Last seen with a Bulldozer." Randy replied.

Katarina put a finger on her upper lip, pausing in thought. "...Olivia, Olivia...yeah, that name rings a bell. Yellow hair in bun, crisp uniform, katana, calm?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, that's her! You just missed her; she checked out a day ago with her 'Dozer friend.. Said she was going on another travel! If I had to guess, they're going to Tamor Desert or something." Katarina was a naïve woman, Randy realized. "Why you ask? Friends of her or something?"

"...Guess you can say that." Randy shrugged. "Come on, Copper. Our work here's done."

...Pandora's face contorted into utter disgust at Copper, whom was advancing towards Katarina. She knew exactly what Copper was trying to do. Sure enough, Copper leaned one elbow on the counter that thankfully separated him from Katarina.

"G'day, ya beaut." Copper purred. "How ya doing?"

Katarina blushed in response. "Aw, shucks, I'm doing well, but working here is so boring sometimes."

"Copper, please stop flirting with the Valkyrie." Randy buried his face into one gloved hand. "We have to find Her."

It took a while, but after a few minutes both Randy and Pandora pulled Copper away from the now bright-red Katarina and started for Tamor Desert. Pandora wondered how Randy managed to stay with Copper for so long; having been told they had been friends for more than half their lives. In all honesty, Randy wondered himself; their friendship was the kind that in the moment you'd never see working out, but in the end they just work so well together.

* * *

Randy couldn't help but look back fondly at his early years; the two of them had met when they were young children, perhaps six or seven years before the corruption of the Guardians by Lady Arang and her group of Dark Magicians. Randy knew this because he was thirteen when Copper told him about the mental breakdown of the water Inugami, Guardian Icaru, in Garen Forest.

Nowadays Randy's first memory of Copper was kind of hazy; he knew that he had been sitting in the corner of the room during recess while reading a book that was at least a few years beyond the normal reading level for monsters his age at the time. They said Randy was so smart, but had the worst grades in the school because everyone else thought he was lazy. It's not that he was; Randy was just...indifferent, was all. He couldn't care less about anyone around him at the time, even if he tried.

Once again, Randy had been caught reading in class when he was supposed to be working on learning how to count like everyone else was. Randy couldn't understand why he needed to follow along with everyone; he was already up to the fifties and sixties at that point. So he had started on some human book series he'd been hooked on for the past month. The teacher, Ethna, saw him and punished him for not doing his work by taking away his recess privileges for the day.

...Randy wasn't too sure that Ethna understood that a lack of recess for him meant more time to read.

The room was quiet now; the other children having practically stampeded out to the school's playground. Randy glanced out the window. A small boy with brunette hair and a bird on his shoulder, Pungbaek, was trying to give a flower to a tiny redhaired Mermaid named Platy. His friend Lushen saw him and screeched that Pungbaek had cooties now. Randy never understood cooties. He returned to his book, only to be interrupted again by a very Australian boy's voice.

"G'day, mate!" He had cheered.

Randy sighed, setting the book down at his desk and turning to look at the offending voice while his face was shaded by his red hat - even as a kid Randy loved his hats. Much to his surprise he came face to face with a Living Armor. As far as Randy knew there were two types of Living Armors: suits of armor reanimated from the dead and actual monsters wearing said armor. This particular monster was one of the latter.

"What is it?" Randy asked. Even as a kid he only raised his voice beyond mumbling when it was absolutely necessary.

"Name's Copper! Copper Armane! And you?" The new monster raised up one of his arms, only for the hand to fall off and clatter on the ground, revealing a tiny hand. "Aw, bloody hell– ey, do me a solid and don't tell Ethna I said that!"

Randy picked up the armor from the ground and gave it back to Copper. "Randy Hunter."

"What got you in hot water with Ethna?"

"Reading in class. Not my fault everyone around me is so slow." Randy shrugged. "You?"

"Got into a biffo with Trevor." Copper chuckled.

Randy furrowed his brow under the hat. "...Biffo?"

"A fight. I'm from Straya – that's Australia." He elaborated.

"Makes sense." Randy fell silent now. He was never one for small talk; seeing it as nothing but a waste of time.

The two of them stuck around after that; Randy had no friends in general and Copper was a transfer student, so they tended to stay close to each other. After third grade Copper became one of the popular kids while Randy was still as alone as he had been, thanks to his antisocial tendencies. Surprisingly, Copper was still friends with him, even after the other students asked him "Why do you stay with that nerdy freak?" Copper's popularity ended in fifth grade, thanks to the fact that he was friends with Randy.

Copper didn't seem to care, though. That was what Randy loved about him.

* * *

Of course, Randy had to snap out of his remembrance soon enough. Copper started cussing out something in front of him, so Randy looked up. Somehow, in the hour or so they had been walking, they had gone from the peaceful Garen Forest to the ruins of Mt. Siz just a few miles away from the border of the forest. There were a few places that hadn't fully been cleansed of the corruption of Lady Arang and the Dark Magicians. Mt. Siz was one of those places.

That was not why Copper was yelling, though. No, it was because of the pirate ship Copper had noticed. Even Randy's heart dropped a little when he saw it. That particular ship belonged to an enemy of theirs; the dark Pirate Captain, Frigate. He was perhaps the most arrogant and hot-tempered person Randy knew, and that included Copper. It was no wonder why Copper hated him. Randy didn't blame his friend.

"Oh, hell." Randy tipped his hat down to cover his eyes.

"What's the problem?" Pandora huffed.

"I'll bloody tell you what the problem is;  _Frigate's_  the problem, that's what!" Copper cursed.

"We have beef against him." Randy elaborated. "Copper can't stand the fact he exists, and frankly he gets on my nerves too."

Before Pandora could respond, a few sailors on the ship noticed the group. A Karl on the ship jabbed one of the members awake, yelping that the two hunters were back. Psamathe jolted awake, spluttering and sitting up. He cursed as he made eye contact with Copper. The Fairy King's long blue wings reminded Randy of butterflies.

"Oh,  _god_ , it's the Dimensional Crystal monsters, isn't it...?" Psamathe grumbled.

"Dude, that's literally what I just said!" The Neostone Fighter raised his arms in the air.

"They better have our Crystals, or the captain's gonna be real pissed." Psamathe closed his cobalt eyes again, intending to doze off once more.

"Tell that to them." Karl dramatically motioned towards the two.

Copper had not yet stopped cussing the ship out. Pandora leaned in so she could mumble to Randy.

"Can you hear what they're saying, because I can't." She asked.

"Probably something about how we're all idiots who need to pay up." Randy replied with.

"...Oh my god, Randy, what did you get yourself into?" Pandora turned her head to glare at him.

"A year ago, we really needed training, so Copper bought Dimensional Crystals from Frigate." Randy started to explain. "And Copper, lovable idiot he is, didn't check the price of the Dimensional Crystals and now we're over 1000-something crystals in debt."

"...That doesn't sound too bad." Pandora sighed.

"You don't understand. That was two years ago. We were at a 10,000-crystal-debt at one point."

After the dark energy had been sealed up again, it would occasionally reappear in bursts of energy; tearing open rifts to Another World – the very same Another World the Dark Magicians were trying to open a portal to. Monsters could enter these rifts and fight off the hellish demons that tried desperately to escape, but without the energy of Dimensional Crystals being absorbed in their system, they wouldn't have been able to survive the atmosphere for long.

"So now they've been hunting you down demanding you to pay up?"

"Ya damn right they are!" Copper huffed.

A few monsters on the ship jumped down to confront the three. Pandora stole an opportunity to float away and out of sight; just far enough that she could overhear the scuffle that was bound to go down in a few minutes. She had only known Copper for maybe a day now, but she knew that he would jump into a fight without a second thought. It was a bright day and an early morning. The day was still fresh, and Pandora had an inkling of an idea...It was a curious, paranoid idea, but was still something.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here." Karl chuckled. "You guys got the Crystals?"

"Look, Karl, I really don't have time for this. We're going after The Consumer." Randy replied, physically holding Copper back like it wasn't an issue of strength whatsoever.

"You'd think the captain would believe that? Ha!" Karl threw his head back. "You don't even know who they are, do you?"

"Yeah, actually." Randy sighed. "Her name's Olivia. Wind Neostone Agent. Around a 30% chance of being in cahoots with a Bulldozer."

Psamathe's eyes widened a bit at the mention of their names. Randy caught it. "Tell me, Karl, Psamathe. Where are they?"

"...I dunno what you're talking about." Karl gritted his teeth.

"Oh, I think you do. Olivia and Bulldozer. You know them."

Pandora decided not to waste any more time; floating through the wooden hull of the ship. The room was dark, despite it being daytime outside, but Pandora didn't care. The glow around her was more than enough for her to see, and she began to float. A monster saw her and screamed.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Darion?! You sound like you just saw a ghost!" Another monster yelled from the other room. The irony was not lost on Pandora as she stared down at the now sheet-white Vagabond's face, blue eyes wider than half dollars at this point.

"Tell me, Darion." Pandora smirked. "What do you know about a wind Neostone Agent and a fire Frankenstein?"

"We – we initiated an attack on them! They – they – they managed to fight back, and last I saw they were – were – were initiating a deal with our captain, Frigate!" Darion screeched. "That's all I know, I swear!"

Pandora shook her head, debating for a second whether to kill Darion or spare him. She ultimately chose to show mercy, just this once. "Pathetic. Very well, then. Where's the captain's cabin? My friends and I want to have a few words with him."

Darion shifted his gaze from Pandora to the doorway, wondering if he would be able to make a break for it. Pandora widened her smirk into a smile when she figured out what Darion was trying to consider. Upon seeing her smile a chill struck Darion's spine, and he was frozen in place.

"I wouldn't recommend trying to run if I were you." Pandora cooed. "We might have more than two causalities here if you ignore me." 


	6. Chapter 5 - Princess of the Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remind me again why i'm tempted to have randy and copper make out
> 
> So as I write this author's note, it's 7/23/18. I just got a Hwa. I should probably be happy over Hwa but I'm not because I have like no idea what to do with my Hwa. She's apparently good in Raids and all, but I'm not sure. Can anyone here give me some advice on Hwa?
> 
> ...I feel like I should also let you guys know that after this chapter, I'm going to take a break from The Defense Destroyers for a week or two. I'm starting to get burnt out, and this chapter was really hard to write. I kept coming to the page and staring at it, trying to get something done, and I had the ideas, but they wouldn't get into the paper. So I'm gonna take a break for a while to regain my love for this fic! Sorry!
> 
> These fanfiction actually take me quite a bit of time to write, and I would REALLY appreciate it if you could vote and comment on the chapters you like! Thank you a lot ahead of time!

 

**Chapter 5**

**Princess of the Dead**

Randy woke up screaming in agony. Olivia wretched once, twice, thrice, and then dashed away to throw up her mouthful of whatever she had eaten. It took Randy a few seconds, but he realized that his left arm was bleeding heavily. As a result of Randy's cries of pain, Copper jolted awake screaming as well.

"Oh, Jesus Christ – !" Olivia gasped.

"Jesus Christ my ass!" Randy hissed. "You're not the one whose arm just got bitten!"

"Crikey, what the bloody hell are you yelling about, Randy?!" Copper started snapping his head left and right.

"Goddamn it, Copper, I think I'm bleeding!" Indeed, there was a massive mark down his left arm; the flesh haphazardly torn out as if in desperation.

Olivia wiped her mouth and stood up, composing herself. That was the first time she had tasted flesh that had been downright nasty. The moment Randy's flesh touched Olivia's tongue; she knew that she wouldn't be able to stomach him if she tried.  _What the hell did this man do to himself?!_ Olivia internally huffed. She turned back towards the two, who struggled violently against their restraints, barking back and forth at each other about how it was each other's fault that they had gotten caught.

Copper said something about how had Randy not told Karl and Psamathe about who they were going after; they wouldn't be in this mess. Randy snapped back that Copper was the one who got himself into a brawl with Psamathe, anyway. Olivia realized for a brief moment that Bulldozer was strangely absent. Had she known that he was with Olivia's literal nightmare - the very being that terrified her to the very core - Olivia would have been instantly set into another panic attack.

Before they could dwell on that for longer, the ruins began to tremble with the pulsating energy of evil itself, swirling and bubbling up. Vrofagus Remains had been abandoned – what looked like recently, even – and though Olivia and Bulldozer had wanted to check it out (albeit warily and with Olivia armed with her katana and Bulldozer his fists), they also had other matters to deal with; namely, the previously-unconscious Randy and Copper.

"...What was that." Randy muttered, though he did not phrase it as a question.

"I vote we cheese it, break outta here, and run. Now, mate." Copper responded.

"You are _not_ going anywhere!" Olivia screeched, but before she could launch into an interrogation, the ruins rumbled again. Pieces of the cave broke off and fell to the ground. In Olivia's gut, she knew that something was coming, and she wasn't going to like what it was. Without Bulldozer by her side, she...actually felt afraid, but decided to grit her teeth and investigate it by herself, but not before muttering a 'stay where you are  _or else_ ' to the two bounty hunters.

...It was safe to say that the attempt on Olivia's life didn't go so well.

* * *

Pandora was used to people being afraid of her. Darion was no different. If anything, she found his reaction to her rather amusing. His white hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a helmet resting on his head and armor donning his body. The young man clutched his sword at her in utter fear as she basically demanded to speak to the captain. Pandora made it absolutely clear to Darion that he was defenseless against her. She let his fear in; grinning with such malice as her powers grew stronger thanks to him.

Darion had become even paler when she let her new psychokinetic powers loose and yanked the sword out of his hands without even touching it. Pandora turned her chin up, just a tad, and swept her gaze to the wall. The sword clattered into the wall, and Pandora relaxed, letting her psychic grip of the weapon go. She was not done yet, though, and instead looked straight up, meeting the Vagabond in the eye.

"I thought I said that struggling would not be appreciated." Pandora hissed, advancing closer and closer. "You know, you're lucky that I'm in a decent mood today, otherwise I'd off you and find someone not as stubborn."

Darion's mind could not comprehend the very reality that Pandora bent, and he fainted. She sighed, turning away from the room and floating through the walls. Her mind was calm, her incorporeal body unable to follow the laws of physics. She phased through the wall, eyes opening as she took in the scene in front of her. Copper had gotten himself into a physical brawl with Psamathe, and both Karl and Randy were trying to hold the two back. Obviously they had given up on negotiating with their words and let their fists do the talking. Pandora...wasn't too sure about who was winning or not.

But that didn't matter.

"Copper. Ask about where the captain's cabin is. We could get...information from him." Pandora grinned a bit.

"We'll never tell." Psamathe spat, clutching the side of his face where Copper had gotten a good punch in.

Pandora floated closer to him. Immediately his palms began to sweat; his heart rate shooting up at the sight of the pale girl's face. Pandora began to feed off of his fear, absorbing it into her body. Her eyes closed shut to take it all in, before they opened once more, as did her powers. The princess of the dead swung her arm to the side so that her fingertips pointed towards the wooden hull of the ship. Psamathe was yanked rather rudely from Copper's grasp and was flung like a ragdoll towards the wall. His back roughly made contact with the wood; knocking the wind straight out of him. He doubled over as his vision turned red and black for a split second, struggling to catch his breath.

"Bloody 'ell, mate! Bloody 'ell!" Copper yelped, stepping a good five or so paces away from Pandora. Randy couldn't help but follow.

Pandora turned to Karl, without saying a word. Now that he didn't have anyone to back him up, he raised his hands up in an instant and shot off some directions. He wasn't stupid. Pandora asked how she could trust he wasn't lying and trying to lead them to a death trap or something. He replied that if he did lie, the three of them would find out and he'd be killed. Randy said that was fair enough and that they should go quick. Though Copper was quick to start looking and Randy followed, Pandora lingered for just a moment; taking in the fear of Psamathe and Karl. Already, she could feel her powers growing even stronger.

Admittedly, Pandora had not been able to watch the show; for she had other businesses to attend to. Later she had gotten the story from Randy and Copper, though. Frigate, in fear for his own life, had blabbed; told Randy and Copper everything. About how Olivia and Bulldozer had made a deal with Frigate to hitch a ride on his ship to Vrofagus Remains – of course, he had been swayed with a decent amount of Mana Crystals. That was pretty much one of the two things Frigate cared about; alcohol and his crystals.

Pandora had expected nothing less from the man. Such a handsome thing going to waste, she thought to herself. Pandora couldn't help but wonder how they had been able to make bank so quickly, to the point where they could afford to travel with one of the most infamous loan sharks in the continent of Mystica within the span of just a day at most. The ship had started moving, which worried Randy. At this point it wouldn't be possible to make a clean getaway should something go wrong.

And something went very, very wrong, indeed.

Olivia ducked behind a corner as the ghost floated through the hallways; holding her breath as the being trilled "where are you, Consumer, where are you...?" Her heart throbbed in her chest; each heartbeat shot another wave of paranoid pain through her. Internally she begged for Pandora to leave her alone, even if just for a moment. Pandora paused, still floating a foot above the ground; turning her head back and forth, as if she had sensed something. Olivia knew that she was afraid; the complete opposite of this ghost.

Finally, Olivia exhaled as the ghost passed by her and Bulldozer without detecting either of the two. She calculated that the ship would land at Vrofagus Remains in perhaps an hour. They only had to survive for an hour, then. Olivia knew very well the day she became known as The Consumer that there would eventually be people coming after her, but...

"Who was it?" Bulldozer asked, his voice low.

"I never thought I'd see the day, but it was Pandora." Olivia's voice was barely above the volume of a whisper.

Bulldozer instantly remembered the pale ghost girl he had met what felt like years ago; the one who had been looking for a bounty hunter. "What's so bad about her?"

"Y-" Olivia got caught on a breath, and she coughed a bit before regaining her composure. "...You don't know who she is?"

Bulldozer shook his head. "Remember, had a crazy Summoner who locked us away from the world."

"I suppose that makes sense..."

Olivia told him. Bulldozer couldn't help but wonder how a girl who was brutally murdered in Ferun Castle and supposedly hated the world could have seemed so calm when he had first met her. He didn't have time to think about that, though; as a fiery red arrow went whizzing through the air. Olivia yelled and ducked just in the nick of time, and the arrow was embedded into the wall. Bulldozer stood up, intending to help Olivia up. In doing so, he had gotten a glimpse of the one who had launched that arrow into the air.

A teenager glared back at him from under his red hat. Like Bulldozer, the boy was a fire element, but he didn't seem to be on Olivia and Bulldozer's side. The Bounty Hunter loaded another arrow into his crossbow, and was ready to fire. He shouted over his shoulder that he had found them. This seemed to snap Olivia out of her dazed state of mind; bolting up just in time to see another monster walk up to the Bounty Hunter.

There wasn't enough time for Olivia to decipher what kind of monster he was, before the boy pushed a second arrow into his weapon of choice. Randy's mind cleared, his target in sight. Both their defenses were raised at this point; though Randy was still cautious. Of course, Copper was the complete opposite - if anything, he was already sure of their victory.

"Mate, I'm  _stoked_  for the Crystals." Copper grinned under his helmet.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Randy hummed back.

Before Olivia had time to react, Copper came flying down at them, giant war-hammer creating bolts of lightning. He aimed for Olivia, but Bulldozer stepped in front of her, blocking the attack somewhat. Though Copper had an elemental disadvantage against Bulldozer and wasn't able to ignore his defense, it still hurt. Nevertheless, Bulldozer clenched his teeth and took the hit for Olivia; knowing full well if she had taken the same hit, she'd be out like a light.

"Oh, goody, the Bulldozer's on her side now." Randy muttered to himself as he fired another two arrows; caught off guard when the arrows landed straight in Bulldozer's arm and he didn't even flinch. Olivia dashed forward, slicing at Randy twice. Though she herself had the elemental disadvantage now, he didn't have time to block the attacks and fell backwards. Both Olivia's and Bulldozer's defenses rose.

Only half an hour until the ship landed.

"Bulldozer! Try and keep the Living Armor at bay. I'll go for the Bounty Hunter! We just need to survive until we get to Vrofagus Remains!" Olivia commanded; the leader side of her taking over.

Bulldozer nodded and, in a sheer force of strength, twisted Copper's arm downwards so that he would have to wrest his arm out of Bulldozer's grasp if he wanted to attack again. The Living Armor struggled a bit, but eventually managed to free himself, gripping his war-hammer in both hands. Copper vaguely noticed the shine of metal on Bulldozer's fists, but didn't focus on it for too long.

"Y'know, yer pretty good." Bulldozer noted, and he meant it. "What runes ya on? Rage 'n Blade?"

"Rage-Guard, ye." Copper responded, swinging his hammer at Bulldozer. He blocked it again, but like before, a shot of pain went through him.

"Rage 'n Will here." Bulldozer used his free hand to pull a punch at Copper. He...didn't actually want to hurt Copper; just fend him off enough until the ship landed so that he and Olivia could get away.

Copper kicked Bulldozer away, tearing away and snatching up a moment to regain his bearings. Olivia wasn't doing so well, that much she would admit. Randy clicked an arrow into place and started firing at Olivia. She screamed in pain as four arrows flew by her and another two embedded themselves in her arm. The black silk of her sleeves were stained with red now; the spots of blood slowly spreading throughout her sleeves. With great difficulty, she pulled the arrows out of her arm. She needed to keep fighting.

Five minutes. She just needed to survive for five minutes.

Olivia wasn't sure she could think properly. She was tired. Her body ached all over, and her arm felt like it was about to pop off at the shoulder from how much she had swung her katana at Randy. To be fair, Randy himself didn't seem like he was in good shape, either. He had multiple slices over his body, and he bled. Olivia had attempted, time after time, to put Randy in lock down, but he seemed to resist her tries.

Though Olivia was the worst off of the four, Copper wasn't doing too well either. He stopped at one point to cough out blood. His arrogance kept him from giving up, but even he wondered how long he was going to last. He was surprised to see Bulldozer offer him a hand up and ask if he was alright. Copper couldn't help but chuckle.

"Mate, I don't think you get how this brawling thing works." Copper laughed.

"I'm not tryna kill you," Bulldozer said, "but I don't think you 'n your friend feel the same way."

"Do you even know who your cobber Ollie over there is?" Copper motioned to Olivia as she fell onto her back thanks to Randy. "She's, like, The Consumer. Legendary mon who eats other mons? Ring a bell?"

"You don't think I know?" Bulldozer responded.

"Why you helpin' her then, mate?!" Copper exclaimed, surprised.

"Because she's my friend." Bulldozer snarled, swinging his fist at Copper twice. He took both hits. "She's more than just a flesh-eating freak, you know."

"...Bloody oath, the hell did she do to ya?" Copper had to lean on his hammer to stand up. "She pay ya heaps to be a supporter or something?"

"She. Became. My. Friend." He threw another three punches at Copper. "She's the only friend I got, and I ain't gonna let anyone take 'er away from me."

"'Dozer, pal, you don't know what ya may be getting into at this point." Copper lifted his helmet up just enough to reveal his mouth, where a trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth to his chin. He quickly wiped the blood off and slammed the helmet back down. "She's gonna betray ya eventually."

"I don't care. Until then, I'll be by 'er side." Bulldozer's fists tightened, defense up.

The metal gleamed in the light as he put every last bit of force in his body into attacking Copper. His defense was ignored, the force of his attack throwing Copper to the wall. The Living Armor fell back; his body screaming in pain. There was no chance of him getting up now. Now Bulldozer was exhausted, and he fell back to recharge his energy. Randy froze up as he saw his best friend lose consciousness, and Olivia stole the opportunity; slicing at him one more time. Randy joined Copper and blacked out.

The ship docked.


	7. Chapter 6 - Ruin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: there have now been at least two Randy secret dungeons now
> 
> The break is over, you guys, and the Defense Destroyers are back in action! Are you as hyped for this series as I am, because I am hyped up to the max! It's just 14 days before my birthday as I type this and I just got a new tablet, so maybe that has something to do with the hype?
> 
> Anyway, I care a lot about these fanfiction, and I'd really appreciate it if you could vote and comment on the chapters you like! Thank you so much!

 

**Chapter 6**

**Ruin**

The Vrofagus Ruins were never supposed to be so empty and devoid of life.

The last Olivia remembered of the Ruins, there had been Elementals of all three tiers pretty much everywhere. The Low Elementals circled the borders, followed by Werewolves; the wolves searched for easy prey to devour. Further in, regular Elementals like Bremis and Taharus floated aimlessly. Though they weren't any less of an annoyance than the Low Elementals, they did tend to hit quite harder than the Low Elementals did.

Even further still were the Elementals of the highest tier: the High Elementals. They were strange humanoid creatures, birthed from the soil and always female. Olivia learned from experience that the ones who had the power to cause a Tectonic Shift were quite deadly. Olivia especially feared the fire ones, whom the other monsters in the ruins addressed as Sister Kahli.

At the heart of the Vrofagus Ruins laid Guardian Tagaros. The fiery, infernal demon slept for an eternity, only arising if ruthless travelers attempted to destroy the Ruins. In all honesty, Guardian Tagaros had not awakened since the strange Dark Magicians and their leader, the monster-human hybrid Lady Arang opened up the Portal to Another World. But at the very least, there were monsters of some kind wandering around.

So why was Vrofagus Ruins so abandoned?

That was a question that Olivia wouldn't have an answer for – at least for a while. Immediately, Olivia was put at unease when she and Bulldozer got off the ship (reluctantly dragging the now-unconscious Randy and Copper with them). The ruins loomed around the two. The feeling in Olivia's gut of being unwelcome grew stronger. Why did her mouth feel so dry all of a sudden? It's not like she was hungry or anything.

"This place feels off for some reason..." Olivia hummed to her partner.

Bulldozer hauled the petite Bounty Hunter up, before taking a look around. "...Seems fine to me. Then again, don't think the Summoner's ever taken me to the Ruins, so don't take m'word for it."

"...I could've sworn there were monsters around the outskirt." Olivia stopped at the entrance of the ruins. The cave was disheveled; stray pieces of rock kicked haphazardly around the ruins. Usually the Low Elementals would stop to clean up the area - that is, before the Werewolves tried to feast on them. Even then, the caves weren't so empty. It was almost like the ruins had been abandoned in a hurry.

"Bulldozer, do you think you could scope out the area for any wild monsters?" Olivia asked. "I'll keep watch of Randy and Copper, lest they wake up. We could question them and find out who sent them..."

"Aight, sure." Bulldozer cracked the metal joints of his knuckles, and headed off.

Olivia decided to keep watch of the two bounty hunters; they hadn't wanted the two of them to wake up on the ship and tell someone who The Consumer was. It was obvious that Olivia's cover had been blown, and they didn't want to take any chances. Olivia shivered at the thought of...possibly needing to kill them. She hated killing, and only wanted to do it when absolutely necessary – such as during feeding time. She stared mindlessly at Randy, her thoughts slowly becoming ever more twisted and warped.

_I wonder what he tastes like._

_So young and fresh._

_I bet he's sweeter than Sister Sylvia's meat was._

_Consume him._

_Just one bite._

_Consume._

_Consume._

_Consume._

Olivia succumbed to her primal instincts. Before she knew it the shoulder of Randy's shirt and jacket were pulled down, exposing some of his pale, white skin. Olivia wasn't even hungry; why did she want his flesh so badly? Perhaps it was the thought of revenge against Randy for the attempt on her and Bulldozer's life, or some even more sinister. Olivia's mouth opened and she bit down as hard as she could. Her teeth sunk in, blood pooling into her mouth.

Randy's blood was deceivingly sweet, like a nectarine's juices. Olivia ripped a moderate-sized piece of meat out of Randy's arm, and then the nasty, bitter taste overpowered the delicacy that was his blood. Olivia trembled, one hand suddenly slapping itself over her mouth as a dry heave wracked the woman's body.

That was the first time she had been unable to find pleasure in a monster's flesh, and for a second Olivia was angry, wondering what Randy had done to himself. An optimistic side of her took over, and then she was relieved. Perhaps the horrible, nightmarish curse that had plagued her life after she had devoured her sisters in her sleep was finally over, and maybe Olivia was finally normal again. She stood up and ran behind a broken-down pillar to throw up; vaguely aware of Randy screaming. Oh, it seemed that the two bounty hunters were up now.

She stood up, wiping her mouth and composing herself. The texture of the meat was horrible: gamey, too tough to chew. The taste was like attempting to eat broccoli or potatoes raw. The mere  _thought_  of having another bite from Randy made Olivia shudder with every last inch of force in her body. Nevertheless, she turned back to Randy and Copper, who were busy arguing amongst themselves.

Suddenly the ruins growled and the two of them fell silent.

"...What was that." Randy asked, though from the way he asked it sounded like he didn't actually want to know.

Copper didn't skip a beat with his response, "I vote we cheese it, break outta here, and run.  _Now_ , mate."

"You are  _not_  going anywhere!" Olivia screeched. She was about to start interrogating, but then the ruins began to shake again. Bits and pieces of the ruins began to break apart and fall on the three. Olivia practically danced away, which resulted in a narrow miss of a rock falling into her. The rumbling faded again.

_Something is coming._

She didn't like the sound of that thought. Olivia wished desperately that she hadn't asked Bulldozer to go and investigate, because she would have really liked him by her side around now. Perhaps Bulldozer had somehow found what was causing the rumbling, though, and he could be in trouble... Olivia didn't want to risk it. She had to see for herself whether Bulldozer – the only friend who's stuck by her after knowing who she is – was safe or not. Olivia clenched her teeth.

"Stay where you are  _or else_." Olivia snarled behind her shoulder. "If I come back and the two of you are missing...there is no telling what I may do."

Olivia brandished her katana, and then began walking deeper into the Ruins where Bulldozer headed. Her footsteps clicked sharply on the ground. Olivia was glad she had stopped wearing heels long ago and switched to more comfortable shoes; outside of the Arena and Guild Battles, heels always made her feet sore for days afterwards.

The further she advanced in, the more uneasy Olivia grew. The torches on the sides of the Ruins were still lit, giving everything an eerie orange glow. There were no sounds whatsoever, except for the quick breaths Olivia took, and the thumping of her heart in her ears. Olivia gripped her katana with surprising force. Her palms felt wet under her black gloves. It was strange...was she  _afraid_? The last time she felt this afraid was when Randy and Copper came after her; before that, she would worry herself about Pandora killing her.

In the back of her mind there was screaming. Terrified screaming cut through Olivia's thoughts. It was so loud, yet incredibly silent at the same time. Olivia paused, looking around to try and figure out where the screaming may be coming from. For a moment she wondered if a telepathic monster was screaming. Humanoid monsters who lacked mouths – the Undines, for example – instead spoke through the mind of other monsters. It was quite useful for when they wanted to have a private conversation with someone.

Pandora sighed softly as the screaming rang in her mind. "You would think everyone would be gone by now."

"Guess so." Bulldozer shrugged. He glanced back at Pandora. It was odd at first, seeing her face. He just barely remembered her from back when he first escaped from his Summoner. He knew her as the girl who wanted a Bounty Hunter.

Bulldozer had asked why she was here when they first ran to each other. Pandora responded with "she was roaming the world." Bulldozer remembered what Olivia said, and then he had taken a step away. Of course, Pandora noticed, and decided to play the innocent spirit act. Instantly, her expression changed into one of sadness and disappointment.

"I guess you've heard the rumors of me, then?" Pandora hummed.

Bulldozer wasn't sure of what to say.

Pandora decided to continue. "People always distort and twist rumors until they barely contain a shred of what truly happened. They paint us different people as demons. You would know that yourself, wouldn't you?"

At that point she motioned toward his metal arms. He slid the leather jacket down even further to cover them up. As Pandora spoke, Bulldozer couldn't help but admit that she had a point. Bulldozer doubted that Pandora was really as bad as the folklore said she was. He couldn't help but think that, like Olivia, Pandora was the victim of an unfortunate misunderstanding, but no one saw what caused it. No one knew that Olivia would die of starvation if she didn't eat flesh; they just saw her as an evil being who binged on the meat of other monsters for the hell of it.

It was then that the screaming became louder, and a single being practically flew out of the darkness, zipping past the two without so much as a second glance.  _He's awakened! He's awakened!_ She screeched endlessly. Olivia looked up at this, just as the being collided headfirst with Olivia. The two of them went tumbling down to the ground.

"What on Earth?" Olivia yelped, despite the fact she had no idea what 'Earth' even was.

_Guardian Tagaros – he –_ She gasped, holding her head. It was around now Olivia got a good look at the girl's face. She was a High Elemental; obviously one of the fire-type, judging by her skin, made of red terracotta. Yellow rocks swept up over her head and ended in a tip, as a strange imitation of hair. Her eyes were the same color as her hair, though unlike Olivia, she had no pupils or irises, and lacked a mouth. A glowing tiara rested on her forehead.

Olivia's own eyes widened, and instinctively she backed away a pace or two, knowing how easily this being could kill her. "...Kahli?"

Kahli looked up at Olivia.  _Please, you have to help. Guardian Tagaros – he's – he's awakened from his eternal slumber!_

"Isn't that supposed to be good?"

_Not this time._ Kahli was shaking.  _He thinks there's a threat in the Ruins and we fear he may destroy everything!_

Olivia hesitated. She wasn't going to be stupid and dive into something headfirst, resulting in her death. Poor Feng Yan from her last island did something like that, and now look at him – Lushen sniped the hell out of him and now her Summoner no longer had a Feng Yan. It was tragic. The two of them were silent again as a low growl buzzed through the air; cutting through the thick tension.

Without warning, monsters sprang out of seemingly the shadows, claws aimed straight for Kahli and Olivia. A group of wind Elementals had gathered together, ready to attack the two of them. Kahli tried desperately to reason with them, but they wouldn't listen, instead going for Olivia. In an instant Olivia scrambled to her feet, katana in hand, ready to defend herself.

"Ready to Snipe!"


	8. Chapter 7 - What You Don't Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ravioli ravioli no bulli the olivi or she gun git ur bloodioli
> 
> Alright, it looks like I've finally gotten over my writer's block for this story! Who's ready to have some more Defense Destroyers right up in your face? I know I am, baby!
> 
> Anyway, these chapters do take some time for me to write, so I'd really appreciate it if you could comment and vote on the chapters you like! Thank you so much, and have a wonderful day!
> 
> Warning: This particular chapter gets really graphic halfway through. If you're easily grossed out or just plain don't wanna see that stuff, feel free to skip this chapter.

 

**Chapter 7  
What You Don't Know**

_...For as long as I could remember, I've needed the flesh and blood of monsters._

Olivia was hungry.

It's not like she was hungry for food, though. She and her sisters, Sylvia and Illiana, had just eaten. Yet she still felt like she was hungry for something, but she couldn't put her finger on what. Olivia snapped out of her thoughts as a wave of pain shot through her tiny finger. She gasped softly, looking down at the damage. It wasn't too bad; though she still bled.

Olivia had been training to try and take her mind off that odd feeling. It was about a month or two before her fifth birthday, so she was excited. Her sister Sylvia had decided a while ago to let Olivia train with the other monsters so that she would have an outlet to take out her excitement so that neither of the Neostone Agents would have a hyperactive child on their hands. Illiana had been reluctant to let a soon-to-be-five year old swing a knife around with other children, but much to her surprise, Olivia hadn't managed to kill herself or anyone else.

"Are you alright, Ollie?" A young Dryad – maybe a few years older than a baby – hummed to the left of her.

"...Yes, Felleria. I'm fine." Olivia said.

Felleria gripped tightly on a white flower, floating down from a foot or two in the sky and didn't stop floating until her toes barely touched the ground. Olivia took a second to look at her friend. She was a light element; as indicated by her pale complexion and her light gray leaves that were arranged to look like hair. There were velvety flowers intertwined in Felleria's leaf-hair.

Felleria grabbed onto Olivia's hand, turning it so the palm faced up and squinted at the cut. "You lied! You are  _not_  fine!"

"No, really, Felleria. I'm alright." Olivia reassured. She resisted the urge to smile at her friend's overprotective nature – no pun intended.

"You know I can heal you, right?" Felleria huffed, pouting slightly at the fact that one of her friends got hurt. "Come ooonnn! Please?"

"I can clean it up myself, Felleria; really. Don't tire yourself out over me." Olivia said. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually Felleria let go of Olivia. She turned her back to Felleria and began walking back to the Arena Defense Tower. All around her, young and unawakened monsters screamed and punched and kicked cloth dummies. Orion chucked his striped ball at his own dummy. It bounced back and hit him in the face.

Once she was out of sight of the monsters, Olivia looked down at her finger. Blood beaded up from the cut, the dark red pooling down onto the ground. It looked so tempting... Before Olivia could stop herself, she stuck her little tongue out, catching the blood. It was sour, yet so,  _so_  sweet.

_When it first started, a drop of blood was all that was needed to calm a strange feeling in my body._

Olivia exhaled. That feeling was gone. Olivia couldn't explain it, but it felt like someone lifted a weight off of her chest, making it far easier to breathe. As if on cue, Illiana came dashing out, screaming behind her shoulder to Sylvia that Olivia had managed to get herself hurt.

"I  _told_  you she was too young to be training!" Illiana shrieked.

Olivia sighed. "It's just a cut, Sister Illiana."

"You're still hurt!" Illiana scolded, raising a finger. It wasn't enough for Olivia to have a friend who hovered around her and worried herself into panic attacks, apparently. She just  _had_  to have a sister who felt the same way. But for once in her life, Olivia didn't care about Illiana's...well, Illiananess. She was just thinking about that hunger as Illiana picked her up and placed her on her shoulder.

Little did Olivia know that it wouldn't be the last time this nightmare would be beheld.

What the world didn't know would hurt them, and Olivia would be the one who caused such pain.

* * *

 

_One drop became two, two became four, four ten, and before I was five I was purposely creating cuts and gashes on my friends to suck out some of their blood._

"Ew. Girls." Lushen sighed softly to himself. The boy looked around in disgust at the monsters training. He was new to the island, and he knew that he was going to have to start learning how to fight if he wanted to succeed in the dungeons. Only problem was that he was in the classic "girls are nasty" phase that six-year olds tend to go through, and the only spot open was next to what was undoubtedly a girl.

Olivia put down her knife as a boy with burnt-orange hair and a bright red nose sidled to the spot next to her; his head lowered as if in embarrassment. Ah, it was the wind Joker, Lushen. She and Sylvia had witnessed his summoning an hour ago. She smiled softly at him.

"Hello, Lushen." Olivia started.

Lushen snapped at her, "I don't talk to girls."

Olivia couldn't help herself. "But you just did."

"...Shut up!" He snarled.

Olivia was hungry again. She stared at Lushen. He was shuffling his cards, taking delicate care not to cut himself on the razor edges. Lushen saw her in his peripheral vision; an ethereal girl with bright blonde hair tied up into a low ponytail; golden kimono flowing down her delicate body in rivulets. Admittedly, she was beautiful, even for a five-year old. Yet Lushen was stubborn, and reacted with more undeserved hostility.

"What the heck are  _you_  looking at?!" Lushen puffed his chest up and stood to his full height. ...Unfortunately for him, Olivia was taller than him even though she was a year younger.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that you're new here, and I want to know more." Olivia gave him a smile, determined to show him kindness and let his guard down.

Lushen's expression softened a little. "...It's just...well...I'm just new and all..."

"You feel like you're sad and have no friends?"

"...Yeah!" He nodded. Lushen was shocked at himself, but to a six-year old boy, a female friend was better than no friends.

_I thought I was a Neostone Agent and Vampire hybrid at first._

Inside, Olivia felt no emotional connection to Lushen. He just looked like he had fresh blood. Olivia subtly ran her tongue over her canines. Darn, her fangs weren't showing up yet; her teeth were still as small as ever. She had this notion that she had to be some sort of cross between a Neostone Agent and a Vampire. That was currently the only explanation for her newfound love for blood.

She watched as he threw card after card at his dummy. He had good aim, Olivia remarked to herself. Though she looked interested in Lushen's skills, she wasn't interested in how he fought; instead, waiting for the right time to strike. An opportunity presented itself to her – Lushen raised his right arm, card slipped between his fingers, pointed at himself.

With a flick of his wrist, he would throw his card at the dummy, but Olivia slammed her shoulder into him right as he raised his arm. He yelled in pain as he tumbled to the ground and the card sliced through his right arm. Olivia fell forward onto him as well, face-planting right into the gash she had indirectly caused. As such, the blood flowed straight into her mouth, just as she had planned.

The supervisor Soha saw the two of them crumpled up in a ball, Lushen most decidedly injured. She hurried over as Lushen started screaming for Olivia to get off of him – and in her defense, she did once she had swallowed up the mouthful of blood she had taken from him. Her hunger was calmed for now, but she felt like she needed more.

"You weirdo!" Lushen jutted out a foot in an attempt to kick Olivia. She dodged and wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her kimono.

Olivia got sent home for the day. Upon hearing the front door open, Sylvia looked up from her violin, shocked to see her baby sister home so early. Sylvia set the violin down and advanced towards the girl. Olivia's expression was blank, like she couldn't care less if she tried.

"Sister Olivia, what happened?" Sylvia trilled. Her dark hair had been tied up into a neat bun; one lock of her bangs highlighted a bright red. The Summoner absolutely loved Sylvia; he took her to every Guild War he could. Sylvia was good friends with pretty much everyone on the island and during each of her turns, one of her allies would jump up and attack alongside her. In all honesty, both Olivia and Illiana were jealous of their eldest sister. Olivia was currently too young to go into battle, and Illiana was best at guarding the Monster Storage.

"I accidentally hit a trainee and he cut himself." Olivia responded.

"You have to be more careful, Sister Olivia." Sylvia shook her head. "He could have been seriously hurt."

"I know, Sister Sylvia." Olivia glanced at the calendar. June the 23rd. Just one more day until her sixth birthday. Sylvia noticed this, and smiled.

"Are you excited to turn six, Sister Olivia?"

"Yeah!" Olivia's whole face lit up.

"That's wonderful. Perhaps you should rest for now. Do not worry; I won't tell Sister Illiana about earlier. Heaven knows she doesn't need the extra stress." Olivia felt lucky to have a sister who was so understanding of her – though she had never told Sylvia or Illiana of the strange hunger she felt. Olivia started hopping away to her room, trying desperately to forget how hungry she was. A mouthful of blood wasn't enough anymore, but if that wasn't enough...then what was?

Olivia wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer.

* * *

...Olivia had such a strange dream.

She dreamt of her sisters screaming. They sounded so pained, screaming louder and louder until teeth clamped down on their throats. Sylvia's shouts died out to a feeble gurgle as blood filled her airway. Illiana just kept sobbing and sobbing, tears spilling down her face. And yet, Olivia herself didn't seem to be hurt at all in her dream; if anything, she was causing this pain to her sisters.

Olivia gasped and straightened herself, eyes flying open. Horror dawned upon her as she realized that her dream was real. On the ground laid her two older sisters; eyes empty and devoid of the soul their bodies once harbored. Tearstains streaked down Illiana's closed eyes and onto her white face, and Sylvia's throat had been ripped out. The two of them laid still and frozen on the floor...she could only assume they were dead.

Blood trailed on the once sky-blue carpet, leading straight to Olivia.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her mouth and the front of her nice dress were covered in blood. Olivia stared at herself; not recognizing the murderer in front of her. She felt like there was a different person in her skin, but she still had her consciousness while this person made her do evil things. There was a lump in her throat, and Olivia pressed her teeth together as tight as she could to keep herself from crying.

Her teeth chomped through something soft and squishy. Juices leaked out of it; sour and unbearably sweet –  _blood_. Olivia paused, before she opened her mouth in front of the mirror. Placed on her tongue was a lump of meat. Beef, maybe? It was far tenderer than beef, though; the texture didn't feel like chicken or pork, though. Oh, the  _taste_ of this mystery meat; it was so amazing, sweet like honey and warm like a freshly cooked bowl of  _lo mein_. It was the best thing the now six-year old girl had ever eaten in her life.

Olivia's stomach growled. She was hungry, unbearably hungry. The taste of this meat had whetted the appetite of her blood-loving side. She looked at Sylvia and Illiana's reflections in the mirror. Olivia was so unbearably curious – their bodies were full of blood and it was not yet dawn. Surely it would take a few hours for someone to find their bodies...maybe she could have just one lick of their blood before someone learned of what she had done?

She kneeled in front of Sylvia's body. Her katana was about a foot or two away from her body; Olivia could only assume that she had attempted to grab it to defend herself from her own little sister. Olivia picked up the katana, tears running down her petite face. She whispered a faint "I'm sorry, my sisters;" so quiet that even she had to strain to hear herself.

Olivia set the katana down, before leaning forward onto Sylvia's throat, where she had drowned in her own blood. Olivia's tongue ran across the liquid, and she further added to the blood on her face and dress. Olivia closed her mouth to swallow her sister's blood, and in doing so tore off a piece off the edge of her wound. Immediately, the addicting taste of the meat had returned.

What she now needed to survive was the sweet taste of monster flesh.

_I had my first taste of flesh, and from there, it was like I was an addict._

Olivia succumbed to urges that she never knew that she had until now; chewing the piece of her sister's corpse. Oh, it was  _so_  sweet. She chewed it until it lost all flavor, like how her sisters taught her to eat. It was only when Sylvia's flesh was just tender fibers that Olivia gulped softly, swallowing it up. Olivia began to salivate, a strand of drool running down the corner of her mouth; she needed  _more_. Without hesitation she tore out another piece to satiate the unbearable hunger that growled inside of her.

She feasted on Sylvia's corpse for what must have been hours. Olivia wasn't sure how such a small girl like her was able to devour nearly half of her older sister, but nevertheless, she devoured; stopping only once when decided to open her sister's chest cavity up with her own katana. It was a bit bulky for her, but she managed to make a mostly straight cut, and she pulled the incision open.

Instantly, she was greeted with organs. Some were protected by Sylvia's ribcage, but others were tantalizingly open. Olivia started by reaching under her ribs and pulling out the heart. It was still warm and coated in Sylvia's blood. Olivia bit down on Sylvia's heart like it was an apple. Flavors soon began to burst inside Olivia's mouth. It was so, so delicious; truly one of the most amazing things she had ever eaten.

Olivia made quick work of her sister's own heart, reaching forward again, faltering for just a second to choose which organ she wanted to eat now: the kidneys or the liver? She more or less had a good idea of human and monster anatomy, so she knew where the food was. Olivia's morality was gone; replaced by what was essentially an all-you-can-eat buffet in front of her. As she finished up Sylvia's liver, she heard a strange noise. It was like a door creaking, but turned into a moan of pain. Olivia turned to her right.

Illiana was still alive.

Her eyes had been cracked open halfway, and she had slowly turned her head to see the gore that was once Sylvia. Another tear slipped down her eye in both fear and horror as she saw what had become of Sylvia, and who had brought such a fate to her. Olivia reached out; tempted to save Illiana from death, but a voice in her head stopped her.

_No witnesses, Olivia._

Olivia was still hungry. She looked down at Sylvia's katana, which she still held in her hand, and then back to Illiana. The light Neostone Agent was weak, and wouldn't have been able to fight back even if she had tried. But Olivia was so, so hungry...

"Please forgive me, Sister Illiana." Olivia gripped the katana. Her own tears, mixed with the blood of Sylvia, dripped onto the blade as she raised the katana over her head and opened her mouth wide.

_Illiana, the light Neostone Agent, has been missing since the sixth birthday of her little sister, Olivia and is presumed dead. She will be remembered fondly._

_Victim #1. Kidneys, liver and heart were unable to be found. The victim was found lying on her bed, chest cavity and abdomen sliced open. Cause of death presumed to be stab wounds. Large pieces of flesh had been taken out of her neck, arms, legs and abdomen. Her weapon, the katana, was unable to be found. Time of death: June the 24th, 3:36 A.M._


	9. Chapter 8 - Unknown Reasoning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who's ready for another chapter of Defense Destroyers? Some of you all thought you missed something from the last chapter, like maybe you guys skipped a chapter or two. I reassure you guys, you did not. I just thought "hey, let's put some Olivia backstory in this chapter," and before I know it the whole chapter was Olivia L O R E. So, the stuff that was originally going to be a good majority of Chapter 7 is now Chapter 8. Let me know if you guys wanna see more L O R E chapters in the future!
> 
> Unfortunately, though, Defense Destroyers updates are probably gonna slow down from here, because I've officially "the slump."Any other writers here should know what I mean by the slump.
> 
> These chapters take a long time for me to write, and I would really appreciate it if you would vote and comment on the chapters that you liked! Thank you all so much, and stay as awesome as you are right now!

 

**Chapter 8**

**Unknown Reasoning**

"Why does he protect us?" Olivia wanted to ask so badly. But she knew that now would not be the correct time to do so; the look of pure determination on Randy's face told her so. And besides, it wasn't like Randy  _wanted_  to protect her; it was more like investigation and self-preservation.

Copper's hammer sparked with electricity; the bolts and zaps seemed to fit his personality quite well for some reason. Elementals surrounded the four of them; Kahli attempting to reason with her kind. It didn't seem to work out too well, as evidenced by Taharus leaping forward to strike Copper. This particular Elemental was a being of wind, green markings curling around his golden body; covered somewhat by a shoulder blade.

His claws made deep gouges in Copper's armor, nearly breaking through to the man hidden underneath the metal. Yet he could not fully penetrate through as Copper retaliated with his own attack, swinging his war-hammer and striking Taharus on the side of the head. The Elemental was knocked back as Kahli screamed for him to stop.

"Kahli, my sheila, I dunno if you're blind or something, but these brutes are tryna bloody kill us!" Copper snarled from behind his armor as Randy unloaded four arrows into an Elemental swiping at Kahli.

 _They're my people! I can't let you hurt them!_  Kahli hissed right back.

"Oh, so you're gonna let us all get killed, ya mongre-"

"Copper, don't provoke her even more!" Randy's voice cut through the tension. Though he hadn't really wanted to investigate (or move, for that matter), Copper had retaliated with a good point of "so you're just gonna sit here and die from getting eaten or something?" Randy had hated that Copper's logic made sense, but nevertheless they more or less managed to free themselves as the screaming of Kahli came from the dark unknown of the ruins.

By now, though, Olivia had blocked it out, along with all other questions floating in her head. Primal instincts took over as she sliced at another Taharus, putting him under lock down. Honestly, at this point she didn't even care that Randy or Copper had somehow managed to free themselves. Neither of the two noticed her, anyway; might as well not jinx herself or risk another fight after this.

Olivia had to find Bulldozer.

She drove her katana through the body of the Elemental, and the screams it made; oh, it was perhaps the very embodiment of a nightmare. But Olivia couldn't care, ripping the blade out as quick as she could and pushing the fallen Taharus to the side, advancing further. Kahli turned to see her leaving, and held her arm out, screaming for her to wait. Olivia still could not hear her, mind set on finding the only friend who hadn't abandoned her the moment he saw who she really was.

It was only then, as the battle calmed, that Randy turned to see the blonde woman in a prim uniform running off into the darkness. His eyes widened, but nevertheless kept a calm demeanor – panic would only cause unnecessary drama, and he made a mental note to go after her and take her down while she was vulnerable.

"Of course we ran the one place She was." Randy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Eh?" Copper turned to face his best friend.

Randy just motioned to where Olivia once was. The woman pushed her way through the hordes of brainwashed monsters coming her way, mindlessly swiping and clawing at her. She had to find Bulldozer. She would not let herself abandon Bulldozer the same way people abandoned her. The Frankenstein himself wasn't doing so well either, taken by surprise as Elementals of all tiers cornered him.

The wind High Elemental Moria raised one claw in the air, sending a blast of energy at him. At the same time, another one of her allies teamed up with her to attack him at once. Though he blocked Moria's attack the best he could, the other monster's attack felt like it came out of nowhere, and Bulldozer was struck. He growled in pain, but stood his ground and swung at Moria. She actually looked very similar to Kahli, but the clay that her body was made up of was a light tan, instead of sunset red.

"On your left, Bulldozer!" Olivia's voice was audible, and Bulldozer slid to the right just in the nick of time.

A thin blade sliced through the air in a perfectly timed attack. The blade itself missed Bulldozer by a hair (it actually caught on his jacket for a second), but landed right into Moria. The High Elemental began to scream in pain. Soon Moria fell to the ground, and Olivia swung again, ready to initiate Lock Down. As she cut through the monsters that swarmed the two of them, Bulldozer could feel his defense rising. He was ready to fight.

Together the two of them fought on, the silent bond between them growing even greater as the pair took down what were practically zombies. Their minds were practically in sync, each of Olivia's attacks coordinated perfectly with the next of Bulldozer's moves. They fought hand in hand, not stopping until the monsters were gone, and it was only then that they could rest.

"...So I take it that you didn't find anything that was good news?" Olivia couldn't help but crack a smile.

"You can say that again." Bulldozer had a similar smile on his face. They shared a laugh together, and Olivia glanced at Bulldozer.

"I'm just glad you're alright, Bulldozer..." Olivia cared about him; she really did. "After the monsters turned on us, I set out to find you."

"Glad ya did." Bulldozer shrugged.

"Perhaps we should leave..." Olivia said. "I don't have a good feeling about this place. We can find someplace else nearby to settle in for a month or two."

But it seemed that the world had other plans for the two of them; as another arrow or two from Randy whizzed by Olivia's head, Bulldozer cracked his knuckles again, ready for another fight. This time, however, the attempt to kill them didn't even make it to launch, as the ruins rumbled again and split in half. In the middle was Kahli, her claws twitching as she had caused a tectonic shift.

 _This fighting ends now!_ She snarled.

"Dude, if you haven't seen it yet –" Randy was promptly cut off by Kahli closing her hand, causing the chasm to grow even bigger.

 _I don't care._ Her gaze pierced Randy's soul.  _I have other priorities to deal with. Such as the awakening of Guardian Tagaros._

This caught Randy and Copper off-guard. The ruins had fallen silent again, and the urge of unease reformed in Olivia's stomach; like a pit she had swallowed that just wouldn't dissolve. She looked back at Kahli. The High Elemental looked almost majestic like this; floating in the middle of the chasm, separating two pairs of bitter rivals with her sheer strength alone. She seemed like the kind of monster who was fit to be a princess.

The four of them had honestly been too shocked to interrupt her anymore. Kahli continued; the voice that rang in everyone's mind calm and clear.

 _We are going to get to the bottom of this, once and for all. We are going to figure out why my people have turned on us, and why Guardian Tagaros has awakened from his eternal slumber._ Kahli spoke with such authority that Olivia couldn't help but respect her.

Randy turned to Copper and shook his head subtly. Copper more or less knew that his best friend was trying to tell him "not worth it. We're bailing." Before either of the two could turn and leave, the ruins trembled with great force again; the powerful earthquake knocking Bulldozer and Olivia to the ground. Rocks were beginning to fall from the ceiling now. Quick as a flash, Kahli cast a spell on herself; granting an unbreakable shield of invincibility that would last just long enough until the shaking ended.

Randy and Copper took cover, as did Bulldozer and Olivia; Bulldozer using one of his metal arms to shield Olivia. She was grateful for this. The four of them were in the middle of the ruins at this point, but Randy just knew somehow without even looking that the entrance was blocked by boulders now. Life just really seemed to hate him for some reason, since he was stuck in the Vrofagus Ruins with a cannibal monster now.

Once the rumbling ended, Olivia poked her head up to assess damage. Kahli was unscathed as she let her shield dissipate, but the ruins were even more of a mess than they were before. The faint light that shone from the entrance was gone, which could only mean...

"We're trapped here." Olivia said.

Copper cursed. Bulldozer resisted the urge to punch something in frustration.

 _Do not fret._  Kahli raised her claws again, to calm the white noise of their general annoyance.  _There is another way out of the Vrofagus Ruins, but it is at the very end... That is where Guardian Tagaros is._

"So we're gonna hafta go through the entire ruins..." Bulldozer grumbled.

 _That is correct,_  Kahli glared at the four as she spoke again;  _and I would_ highly _appreciate it if we could at least try to work together._

"...Kahli is right, you know." Olivia spoke up, directing it towards Randy and Copper. "I understand that you and your friend wish to see me dead, but it would do us only harm at this point. Our main priority is getting out alive."

 _I like this girl._  Kahli hummed.  _She's sensible._

Olivia took the compliment. "Now then, we're going to have to devise a plan to get out of here, and soon. I don't like it in here..."

"Makes two of us." Randy responded.

It was weird, running from a Bounty Hunter and a Living Armor one minute and then having to team up with them the next. But Olivia knew that she couldn't focus on that; instead choosing to think about making a plan to get out of the Vrofagus Ruins. At this rate, it would be highly likely that she would get crushed by falling rocks, killed by one of the brainwashed monsters... or worse. Olivia shuddered at the thought and chose to keep it out of her mind.

Pandora watched over them from a distance, snarling in rage as she saw that they had more or less called a truce.  _How dare they_ , she thought to herself.  _I'm the one paying them to kill The Consumer, and this is what they do...?!_

 _Fine, then_. Pandora turned and started floating through the walls of the ruins.  _I'll just do it myself._


	10. Chapter 9 - This is Who I Am

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, that's right, i'm putting tokyo ghoul into this. sue me.
> 
> Well guys, I think we're nearing the end of The Defense Destroyers. I just checked my general storyline, and there are only two chapters left (including this one). Don't worry, though; I'll still be writing a ton more SW fanfiction! I'm actually gonna start another one once The Defense Destroyers is done. It's called "Shine of the Archangel."
> 
> This story has taken me at least two months to write (and I'm still gonna have to write the final chapter once I'm done with this), so I'd really appreciate it if you could comment and vote on the chapters you like! Thank you so much; it means a lot to me if you do.

**Chapter 9**

**This is Who I Am**

Olivia couldn't eat.

She physically couldn't stomach the foods she used to eat before. Sandwiches were a no go – the bread had the texture of an old dish sponge; the eggs tasted like they were rancid, and the lettuce felt like the tough leaves of a palm tree. One chew was all it took for her to realize that she had to throw it up, which she promptly did. Everything else yielded similar results.

So far, it looked like the only thing she could still eat was the flesh and blood of other monsters, so that was what she feasted on, gorging herself on the body of a corrupted Taharus until she felt like she was going to be sick. She hadn't felt this hungry in so long, not since she had eaten Sylvia and Illiana so many years ago...

Thankfully, Kahli didn't walk in somehow, but Randy had while she was mid-bite. He looked disgusted for a second, and then screamed. It startled her so much she looked up at him, which caused him to run out of the room, shrieking something about her eyes.

Olivia's body was changing.

When she had properly buried Taharus and headed back to where the five of them were camping out, Randy ducked away from her, holding a hushed conversation with Copper. Olivia was used to this kind of treatment, so it didn't really faze her. As she passed by the two, snippets of their dialogue floated past Olivia.

"...told you she was a ghoul, man...had my hunches when I heard about her..."

"Nah mate, you're probably just being paranoid...just from your manga is all..."

"...know what I saw! Her eyes were the exact..."

"...should probably tell her, mate..."

"-oh hell no...do you even...oh god, here she comes, act natural..."

Randy sighed in relief as Olivia passed by them without so much as a side glance towards them. What he didn't know was that Olivia had overheard what they were talking about, and now wondered what on Earth a "ghoul" was. Olivia doubted that Randy meant a ghastly demon – one quick glance at her would prove she was anything but. She decided to ask Randy later, though from the way that he acted around her, Olivia doubted that she would get a response. But hey, you never know.

It had been a few days now (maybe a week) since the five of them had been caved in. The shaking hadn't stopped yet; at random intervals of the day it felt like an earthquake hit, and their camp would be destroyed. It was a good thing that Randy and Copper were pretty much experts on setting up temporary camps, though; perhaps it was something they picked up due to the bounty hunting business?

Nevertheless, Olivia felt as if things were going smoothly. The five of them had agreed that twice a day, at least two of them were going to go out and clear the area of monsters before advancing. Kahli had tried desperately to save them at first, though that soon stopped.

She had learned one way or another that they were already dead - the monsters that were attacking them were monsters that had fallen many decades ago. Their souls and minds were already gone, so it was merely their reanimated corpses attacking them; like a sick puppet show. Now Kahli had adapted the line of thinking that by killing them, she was merely laying them to rest for good.

The five knew that they would have to kill the monsters in the area before they could advance on, so that was exactly what they did. Every day they ended up doing two runs – a morning run and an evening run; the team consisted of at least two of the group, but three monsters going wasn't uncommon.

Whenever the three were assigned to a run, they usually ended up talking to each other along the way; which caused everyone there to be more comfortable with each other by the time the runs were over. At one point Bulldozer told Olivia of the day his real arms were amputated and replaced by metal arms. She couldn't help but respect that he would open up to her about what had to be a traumatic moment.

Another benefit of the runs was that this also acted as training of sorts; Randy got to practice how fast he could fire arrows, Bulldozer the timing of his punches, and more. Plus the amount of monsters there meant an infinite supply of food for Olivia. That was always a bonus.

That was another thing. Olivia had noticed that she had been getting a lot hungrier lately. It felt like she had to eat at least once a week, if not more. That scared her and intrigued her at the same time. She knew now that her body was changing, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to know what was happening to her now.

* * *

 _So how is the schedule coming along?_ Kahli inquired as she floated to Olivia's side.  _Have you decided on who's going out for today's morning run?_

The Neostone Agent had taken control of choosing who was going for which runs, which was exactly what she was doing right now. She had unrolled a sheet of parchment paper (not unlike the stuff used to make Unknown Scrolls) on a flat area and was scribbling furiously on it.

"Randy, Copper and I are going out for this morning. Later, you, Bulldozer and Randy will be going this evening." Olivia replied without looking up as she rolled up the paper again.

 _Well, you better find those two soon, then._ If Kahli had a mouth, she would be smiling.  _It's almost time._

Olivia nodded and stood up, before advancing into the camp they had set up. It was nothing special, really; just a few tents for them all and a place to have a fire. "The simpler the camp," Randy had said, "the easier it is to pack it up." That was why Olivia was confused when she didn't spot them anywhere.

Olivia knew that Bulldozer was still asleep; she had learned that he was more or less like a log when he conked out – he'd always been that way, according to him. But Randy and Copper's sleep habits were the exact opposite, which meant Olivia was even more confused. After looking around, she had decided to poke her head in their tent. It was empty.

 _That's odd._  Olivia thought to herself.

She looked left and right in the tent, noticing 14 thin books near the back, obviously some sort of series. Olivia had to crane her neck to read the letters on the spine. "Tokyo Ghoul," it read; written by a man named Sui Ishida.  _What a strange name_ , Olivia noted. Olivia had a faint knowledge of the human world; so she more or less knew that Tokyo was some city in...what was it? Japan? China? Nevertheless, the second part of the title was what caught her attention.

 _Ghoul_.

Instantly, her mind flashed back to what Randy had said about her, calling her a ghoul. Perhaps these books would give her some insight as to what kind of ghoul he was referring to. Olivia looked behind her for a second; no one in sight. With this, she advanced into the tent and grabbed one of the books, which turned out to be the first volume.

Weirdly enough, the back had a drawing of a boy sitting on a chair, much like a title cover. The boy had one hand on his face, and his left eye was a bright red. Curious, Olivia turned it over, where a blurb of the volume was written. Her heart skipped a beat when she read the first sentence.

" **Ghouls**  live among us, the same as normal people in every way – except their craving for  **human flesh.** "

Olivia had once eaten a Summoner before. While it wasn't  _nasty_ , per say, humans weren't something that she wanted to eat on a daily basis. Randy had to be mistaken; after all, she wasn't eating human flesh all the time. Only monster flesh... on second thought, maybe he had a point. Olivia read the rest of the blurb; it was mostly about a boy named Ken Kaneki who went on a date with a ghoul girl named Rize; who attempted to eat him. The two of them got into an accident, and Ken had some organs from Rize transplanted into him, turning him into a ghoul himself.

Olivia decided to borrow it, just for a moment – she would return it before the run; Randy wouldn't even notice. It took her some time to get used to the fact that the book was backwards (as in, she had to read right-to-left), but once she did, she realized she couldn't put the book down. As it turned out, manga were Japanese comic books; so each page was littered with illustrations. This helped Olivia in her realization of what ghouls were.

_Humans are thought to be at the top of the food chain... But there are beings who hunt them as food._

_These monsters who feed on the dead flesh of humans... they are called..._

_...Ghouls._

The sadistic nature of the Binge Eater, Rize, only sucked Olivia further into the story. What was most interesting, though, was how much the illustrations focused on Rize's eyes when she first became a ghoul. The whites of her eyes became black, and though the drawings were in black and white, Olivia guessed that the iris changed color, too.

Olivia had just gotten to the part where Kaneki threw up his hamburger steak because it tasted so horrible, when soon remembered how the first thing Randy said when he saw her eating Taharus was about her eyes. Her heart was pounding in her chest as realization after realization exploded in her brain, like atomic bombs. It was too much to be a coincidence, now.

She was a being who preyed on the flesh of monsters, now couldn't seem to eat regular food, and her eyes apparently changed when...

" _Get your hands off of the manga!_ " A voice pierced through her thoughts. Oh, goody, Randy got back sooner than she thought he would.

Olivia calmly glanced up at him. "So I'm a ghoul, then?"

"Give it back!" Randy hissed, swiping one hand up to try and snatch the manga away from her. In response, Olivia held it up way over her head and stood on her tiptoes.

"You know, young boys like you shouldn't be reading such violent comics..." A little smile curled across Olivia's pale, glossed lips. "...How old even are you?"

"First of all, I just turned 19! I'm legally an adult!" Randy snarled. "Second of all, they're  _manga_ , not  _comics!_ "

"– Wait, you're how old?" Olivia was caught off-guard. "I thought you were at least 21 at the youngest..."

" _Nineteen!_ " He reiterated. "Now give it back!"

"I'll rip it in half if you don't tell me about what's happening to me." Olivia delivered her threat; the look in Randy's eyes and the sight of his arm dropping back to his side told her that it was effective.

"Alright, alright, just...give it back. Please. Where did you even get that?"

"...It's a long story."

* * *

 

"...So how have you been feeling these past few days? Ghoul-y?" Randy muttered, his face deep in volume 2 of the Tokyo Ghoul series. Not that he was reading it for entertainment; he had already gone through the first five volumes...what was it, now? 15 times? He was instead glancing at it for referral; reading about how the tough Touka Kirishima (whom he suspected was a mix of  _kuudere_  and  _tsundere_ ) had taught Kaneki on how to open up his kagune.

"To be honest, I'm not sure." Olivia put a finger on her lower lip, thinking. "I started being unable to eat foods I could eat in the past...I'd say around three days ago."

Randy looked up from the manga and at her. Randy and Olivia were currently alone at the time; Copper had gone on ahead of them and was clearing out the area. "And how long have you been eating people?"

Olivia did a double-take at the bluntness of Randy's question. "Ever since..."

She ultimately decided not to tell Randy of the defining moment where her craving became insatiable; the day she became an only child. "...ever since I was – I believe – six?"

"Man, that's weird." Randy started. "If you've read the manga you  _ever so unkindly stole from me_ , you'd know ghouls are exhibiting the symptoms you're having right now, but ever since birth."

"Hm?" They locked eyes for a minute.

"Yeah, it's weird. Maybe it's got something to do with us being monsters and not, you know, human."

"Perhaps." Olivia shrugged. "Now, explain what a  _kagune_  is, if you will?"

"...Oh yeah, that's right." Randy took a glance at the manga again and spoke up. "Basically, it's the predatory organ that ghouls have. There are four different types, but we'll delve on that later. Right now, we're focused on trying to get yours out."

Here, Randy muttered under his breath "despite how bad of an idea that is..."

Olivia couldn't help but be impressed at how professional he sounded all of a sudden; it was obvious that he was a massive fan of the Tokyo Ghoul series. If there were more monster ghouls in Mystica and not just her, she could see Randy being some sort of ghoul instructor. Was that even a thing? She didn't know.

Randy tried to show Olivia how to open them up, but no matter how hard she willed herself to reveal them to the world, she just  _couldn't_. With each failure, a growing frustration grew in her. Randy thought her lack of a kagune reveal was because for those who were new to kagune, they could only open during times of stress; such as feeding time or battle. But Randy wasn't going to try and fight Olivia, he had learned from the last time.

"I just don't get it...!" Olivia growled, collapsing onto her knees and panting to catch her breath.

"Reminds me of when Copper and me back in high school." Randy sighed, kneeling down next to her. "Me, I was always the loner; weird kid who read those ass-backwards books all the time."

Here he motioned to his manga, and then continued. "Copper, he was popular up until middle school. Then he became that annoying kid with the weirdo as his friend."

"Kids can be cruel, can't they?" Olivia spoke from experience. Though her being shunned wasn't nearly as undeserved as Randy's was; the kids mocked her and ran away from her because of all the rumors that she was eating people. The rumors weren't  _wrong._

"You can say that again." Randy shook his head. "I just don't get why they didn't like us just for being different."

In a way, Randy and Copper were more similar to Olivia than she thought they were. She couldn't help but feel like she knew Randy a lot more than she had just twenty minutes ago. Though Randy wouldn't admit it, Olivia was beginning to grow on him. He was starting to feel less tense around her, like it was less likely for her to eat him.

...But, of course, they couldn't bond for long. As Copper dashed back into the area, he was chased down by Werewolves; fire and wind. Randy stood up so fast and loaded his crossbow. Olivia stood up as well, but a fire Werewolf, Garoche, spotted her and charged before she could even comprehend what was happening. Garoche's armor gleamed as he slashed his claws downwards towards Olivia; knocking the katana right out of her hand.

Olivia's eyes opened as she fell back. Though she couldn't see it, her eyes had indeed changed; the whites of her eyes now black and her iris a blood red, like a ring of scarlet in a sea of ink. She stood up, her heart pounding in her chest, yet she was not afraid. Olivia knew what she had to do now; fight or die.

It felt so natural, as if she had done this all her life, but without warning, her kagune opened up; ripping the back of her uniform. Bright red and orange wings formed her kagune; the material a mysterious crystal-like substance. The shards looked so fragile, yet so, so deadly. Undoubtedly, they were beautiful. Randy's jaw dropped an inch as her kagune spread open to protect him and Copper. Olivia looked like a fallen angel; terrifying yet majestic at the same time.

 _Ukaku kagune..._  He thought.

This was who Olivia was – a being with so much potential for harm, yet with equal potential to protect. But right now, the three of them were surrounded with monsters. This would be perfect to practice using her kagune, Olivia realized. Olivia was calm, yet determined to protect the three of them. In that moment, she cared for Randy and Copper's lives, despite them trying to kill her. She guessed it was because, in a way, they were both like her.

"Now then," Olivia hummed, though she had never used her kagune before and had no idea what to do, "let's dance."

* * *

 

"You are the intruder!" Tagaros snarled, his voice sounding as if many people were speaking at once in all different directions. If there was one thing the ancient guardian hated, it was intruders; those who came to his land with ill intent.

The fire Inferno had felt the presence of four others, but he knew that they did not have the same feelings and thoughts this girl had. Her arrival caused a plague of madness to fall upon the corpses of those who had since died; the four were saving them from this illness. Her aura versus the auras of these four were like the very embodiment of good and evil.

"Oh, Tagaros..." Pandora cooed. The sickly sweet tone the ghost had put on made her want to throw up. But nevertheless, she kept up the act. "You don't understand, do you? Those four, they are the evil ones. I'm just a girl who wants justice to be served!"

"Your aura of hatred says otherwise." One burning claw snapped shut.

Pandora's face turned into its usual grimace of disgust. "So that's how you want to play it. I see, then."

One arm reached out towards Tagaros, fingers outstretched at the fiery demon in front of her. Though Tagaros tried to throw her towards the cave, his arm passed right through her, but she could cling onto his claw with an unbreakable force. Hatred surged through Pandora; flowing out of her body and into Tagaros. Soon, an itching and burning sensation flooded him; pure, unfiltered hatred in every fiber of his being.

"Can you feel it, Tagaros? That's the feeling that those four will cause if you let them live." Pandora tilted her head to the side as she spoke. "Doesn't it make you boil to know that they are slaughtering hundreds of your people? Use this hatred against them.  _End them_."

The new bloodlust in Tagaros was the product of hatred, and Pandora was giddy to see how he would kill them all. Perhaps he would cut off their heads. That would be fun to watch. Or impale them. Or crush them or burn them or so much more; oh there were so many ways Tagaros could kill them all.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M FINALLY FREE FROM THIS FANFIC YAAAAAAAA-ahem.
> 
> It's been a long ride, guys. Thanks for sticking around with this fic, and if you liked this, be sure to stay tuned for more works from yours truly. I'm working on another SW fanfiction to fill the void that The Defense Destroyers is gonna leave behind. The new fic is called "Shine of the Archangel." Check it out when you can; I think the prologue will be released within, I dunno, a month or so!
> 
> Anyway, this fanfiction has taken me so long to write, and I'd really appreciate it if you could vote and comment on chapters you like! Thank you all!

 

**Chapter 10**

**Guardian's Rage**

When the next day rolled around, the last thing Olivia expected was for the Ruins to be so eerily silent again. The dread that sunk to the bottom of her stomach was something so powerful and nauseating that she would never forget it for as long as she lived.

It was early in the morning, perhaps 6 A.M. It was hard to tell the time in the Vrofagus Ruins; the only light source being anything that the five of them brought with them, and the flames on the torches that were never extinguished. But Olivia knew that something was wrong, from the moment she was awake.

She stood up and walked out of her tent, looking around the camp. Randy was probably just now waking up, and Bulldozer was still asleep. Copper she wasn't so sure about. Olivia never really managed to get a feel of his sleep schedule. Her back was still sore from where her kagune had been ripping themselves out on a daily basis.

Kahli was the only one who was out of her tent besides Olivia. The two of them locked eyes with each other. Even with a face made out of what was essentially clay, Olivia could see the scrunching of her thin eyebrows and her brooding eyes darting around.

 _I'm not the only one who thinks there's something wrong here, am I?_ Kahli asked.

"No." Olivia looked around. Everything still  _looked_  the same, so why did it feel so off...? "It feels so quiet now."

Olivia's voice was the only sound that pierced through the thick air; the tension like wading through molasses. Kahli's ears pricked slightly, trying to listen for anyone else. Nothing. Perhaps it would be a good idea to go forward and see what was going on – but what if the Dark Magicians had returned or something worse?

It was unlikely; having been 5 years since the Dimensional Rifts appeared, but Olivia didn't want to risk it. Besides, this was supposed to be the last dungeon run that was to take place before they were to get to Guardian Tagaros. All five of them were going to fight for that. But what if she were to just go forward a little, just enough to see what was wrong, and then come back...?

 _I can take care of myself_ , Olivia thought to herself.  _I have kagune now_.

Her kind of kagune was the so-called "ukaku" kagune. According to Randy, it was good for fast, long-distance attacks, but lacked endurance. She had been training with it every day, at least three hours per training session, for the past few days now. It took a little effort to open her kagune, but Olivia liked to believe she was getting the hang of it.

"Let's investigate." Olivia said to Kahli. "It would be best, so that we could warn the others if there is a threat."

 _I'll come with you._  Kahli responded. With that, the two of them set off into the darkness.

* * *

 

"Have either of ya seen Olivia anywhere?" Bulldozer asked.

"Nope." Randy shook his head, not even looking up from the mange he was reading now; Volume 5 of  _Tokyo Ghoul_.

Copper shrugged. "Nah, mate."

It was just Bulldozer, Randy and Copper now. Bulldozer had wanted to go over something with Olivia, but when he couldn't find her he got worried. Kahli was nowhere, either. Something was wrong. The ruins were too quiet, and he figured that Olivia and Kahli would have been back by now if they were just going out to investigate why.

Perhaps they had gotten swept up in battle.

Bulldozer wanted to go after them. The ghost girl Pandora had told him that big things were coming. What those "big things" were, though, he didn't know, and he wasn't too sure that he wanted to. But that didn't matter, as Olivia was still gone. Bulldozer cracked the knuckles of his metal arms, just as he had done the day he and Olivia were in the Vrofagus Remains.

"I'm goin' out." Bulldozer said all of a sudden, startling Randy.

"-What?!" Randy snapped. "Dude! It's kinda, oh I don't know,  _dangerous out there_  –"

"Yeah, and Olivia's out there." Bulldozer responded without turning to look at him. "You'd do the same if it were Copper, wouldn't ya?"

Randy couldn't help but agree. "...Fine. But I'm coming along, too. I don't want Olivia to lose control of her kagune or something. That'd be a disaster."

"Shoot, sign me up too!" Copper chimed in at this point. It was kind of sweet to see Randy and Copper pitch in, after their...rough start with Olivia, but nevertheless, the three of them advanced into the Ruins. There were no monsters in sight, and there was no sound; just painful, painful silence. The lack of noise was unbearable, but soon the silence was destroyed as Kahli was thrown out of the darkness.

Randy and Copper yelped, and Bulldozer jumped.

 _Guardian...Tagaros...!_  Kahli panted.  _Awakened...enraged...Olivia..._

"Olivia?" Bulldozer tensed up. "Where is she? Is she alright?"

 _...Yes, she's alive, but..._  Kahli struggled to get up. Bulldozer held his hand out and she took it.  _...but I don't think she's going to be able to stay up for much longer._

Kahli was right; Olivia wasn't holding up so well, even with her kagune. They were spread open like wings, and she began to rapidly fire shards at Tagaros once more. The fire Inferno took the hits; the crystal shards piercing his skin, but he didn't seem to be phased by the rapid attacks at all. He raised one claw into the air, summoning a flaming meteor down onto Olivia.

Olivia was knocked back from the attack and flew to the ground; skidding across the pavement and landing hard on her back. Much to her horror, she felt woozy and like she couldn't get back up; having been stunned. Tagaros advanced forward, claws dangerously close to Olivia's eyes. She didn't dare wonder what he wanted to do with those claws. Images of being slashed up to bits flashed through her brain, which didn't help at all.

That more or less willed her to get back up.

Olivia swayed on her feet, though she kept her katana in hand and her kagune out. Tagaros swept his claw up for an uppercut attack, but Olivia brought the katana down onto the palm, slicing through the magma-like flesh and creating a deep gash. Tagaros howled in pain as Olivia fell back a few steps, preparing for her next attack.

"Ready to Snipe!" Randy called out, loading two arrows into his crossbow. In an instant, everyone's defenses were raised, attacks pretty much guaranteed to find Tagaros' weak spot.

Olivia jolted at the sudden appearance of Randy, swiveling around to look behind her. There, Kahli led the group, consisting of her, Randy, Bulldozer and Copper. Olivia would have bet that Kahli would have a massive smile on her face if she even had a mouth.

 _I told you I would be back!_ Kahli hummed.

"Thanks, Kahli!" Olivia smiled back at her. Strangely enough, it was both terrifying and comforting; the warmth of her smile contrasted with the coldness of her black and red eyes.

Together the five fought, combos with each other so natural that it felt as if they had been doing it their whole life. Kahli cast a skill she called God of Fire; causing adrenaline and a surge of power to flow through everyone's veins as Kahli herself temporarily became invincible. Olivia led a Briefing, invigorating Copper to the point where he shoved ahead of everyone else and raised his hammer into the air, lightning pulsing through it.

"Thunder Strike!" He called, bringing it down as hard as he could on Tagaros. The room lit up with electricity as Tagaros was struck with the power of the wind Living Armor.

His defense was ignored; despite the elemental disadvantage that Copper had. Tagaros howled in pain as the electricity sliced through him, leaving him vulnerable for another attack. Bulldozer clenched his fists and swung twice with all of his energy. Exhausted, he fell back for a minute as Randy unloaded four arrows into Tagaros.

Hellfire spread around the five, erupting into a wall of flame that rose well over their heads. It burned, it  _burned_  so bad. Olivia screamed in pain as the flames burned her arm, and in instinct she fired five or six crystal shards. One pierced Tagaros in the eyes, and he screamed, just as pained as Olivia had been.

"Amazing...!" Randy breathed, genuinely impressed with the level of skill Olivia was displaying with her kagune.

"Thank you." She smiled back at him.

Kahli was flung back again, her body hitting the rock walls of the cave with a sickening  _crack_  noise. Olivia turned to Kahli, mouth agape slightly in surprise, which left her open to attack. Olivia was thrown back at well, fading in and out of consciousness. That last thing she remembered before drifting out again was Bulldozer's hand, outstretched towards her, before he turned to Tagaros.

He threw two punches again, and Tagaros  _flinched_ , he actually flinched at the pain that Bulldozer was inflicting. The guardian was falling apart, and one last attack now would be enough to finish him off. Olivia opened her eyes again to see Kahli, getting back up. There was a gleam in her eyes; something that she had never seen in her before.

 _I didn't want to do this, Tagaros..._  Kahli's claws twitched.  _...but you leave me no choice!_

_Tectonic Shift!_

The ruins began to shake again, but it was concentrated this time; focused on one particular area – in this case, right below and above Tagaros. Kahli slashed the air, and the boulders crumbled, falling upon Tagaros and crushing the guardian. The boulders were still; no sign of life from underneath the rocks. Kahli panted softly, letting what she had just done soak in.

 _Did..._  Kahli started,  _...did we...kill him?_

"...I think so." Olivia choked; whether from happiness or some other emotion no one knew. Her kagune retracted into her back again, and she lowered to her knees, a smile on her face. "We won."

She began to cry; tears slipping from her eyes, but she still smiled on. "We won...we're...actually...free."

"I wouldn't say "won" just yet." A new voice, one that only Bulldozer had heard, hummed.

Kahli's eyes widened as the sickening noise of something piercing through her flesh entered the air. A pale hand ripped through the left side of her chest, clutching onto something that still throbbed. The hand retracted, leaving a gaping hole where it had burst through.

Kahli was bleeding; bleeding beyond the point of revival, even if there were a reviving monster like Eladriel there. Olivia's hearing went silent; her eyes incredulously wide from shock and horror at the sight of literally watching Kahli die right in front of her. She couldn't believe this.

Her body fell to the ground with a dull  _thump_ , chunky black liquid pouring out of the wound. Kahli made a strange noise that sounded like choking, and then there was no noise at all, and she became as still as a statue. Dead. Olivia was faintly aware of Randy screaming, Bulldozer taking a step back, and Copper swearing.

A girl stood over her body, holding the thumping organ in her hand – Olivia knew from experience that it was Kahli's heart. The heart bled profusely, but eventually the beating stopped. That was when Olivia looked up at the girl. Her entire skin tone was just as pale as her hand; so much, in fact, that her soft white hair nearly blended in with her skin.

A black top hat was placed atop of her head, a similar color to the ripped, worn out robes of a Summoner that she wore. The girl's expression was one of disinterest. However, her face one that Olivia had had nightmares about ever since she became a well-known legend as The Consumer.

Pandora.

"Disgusting." Pandora snarled as she crushed the heart in her hand. Blood splattered out from both ends; hitting her robes. Even Pandora seemed mildly surprised that she had a mostly solid form now, but didn't show this surprise on her face.

No one made a move, which caused Pandora to continue. "You know, Olivia, I've always wanted to know who The Consumer was. Never had I thought that the fearsome beast was a young woman who knew how to alienate people."

Olivia took a breath, clenching her fists as tight as she could.

It seemed that the end of the battle was just the beginning of the war.

The war between two legends – The Consumer and the Ghost of Hate.

But Olivia wouldn't be alone in this war.

"You're right." Olivia smiled. "I am a ghoul. I have consumed many. But you have killed far more."

"We'll see about that." Pandora spat.

The war between the Defense Destroyers and the Ghost of Hate began.


End file.
